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The  Sailing  of  tK«  Mayflower  and  Speedwell  from  Southampton 


SAXBY: 


A  TALE  OF  OLD  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


BY    EMMA    LESLIE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  AYESHA,"   "  MARGARETHE,"  "  WALTER,"  ETC. 


FOUR      ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW  YORK: 
PHILLIPS    &    HUNT, 

CINCINNATI : 

WALDEN     &     STOWE. 
1880. 


Copyright,  1880,  by 

PHILLIPS    &    HUNT, 

New  York. 


PREFACE. 


TN  this,  the  fourth  volume  of  the  second 
series   of   Church    History  stories,  a 
more   familiar  period  is  brought  before 
our  readers.     The   rise  of  the  Puritans 
was   the   necessary  outcome    of  the  at- 
tempt to  limit  the  growth  and  expansion 
of  the   Reformation    in    the    Church   of 
England.     The  desire   for  a  purer  and 
more  simple  form  of  worship  had  taken 
deep  root  in  the  heart  of  the  people.     It 
was  in  the  same  soil  that  the  Reforma- 
tion commenced  its  beneficent  work,  and 
it  was   here,  and  not  among  the  rulers, 
that  it  grew  and  flourished;  and  its  at- 
tendant handmaidens,  learning  and  the 
love  of  liberty,  were  cultivated  to  an  ex- 
tent that  alarmed  those  who  looked  upon 


2212619 


6  PREFACE. 

the  vox  populi  as  dangerous  and  sub- 
versive of  all  vested  interest  both  in 
Church  and  State. 

This  led  to  a  closer  union  of  the  two 
threatened  interests,  which  at  last  cul- 
minated in  the  Church  lending  herself  to 
enforce  the  most  tyrannical  and  oppress- 
ive edicts  of  the  sovereign,  regardless 
of  religion,  while  the  State,  in  return  for 
this,  gave  the  Church  almost  unlimited 
power  over  the  person  and  property  of 
the  subject.  The  oppression  of  all  who 
did  not  submit  to  the  dictation  of  the 
Church  in  things  spiritual  was  a  most 
natural  consequence,  and  while  it  drove 
thousands  of  her  best  and  noblest  sons 
and  daughters  into  exile,  it  roused  the 
spirit  of  other  brave,  true  souls  to  resist 
the  tyranny,  for  the  time  was  passed 
when  men  would  tamely  submit  to  be 
led  like  sheep  at  the  will  of  king  or 


PREFACE.  7 

bishop ;  and  for  five  and  twenty  years 
the  slowly-gathered  storm  raged  in  Old 
England,  during  which  the  New  En- 
gland was  created,  that  it  might  be  a 
"  refuge  for  the  oppressed ;"  "  the  shad- 
ow of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land." 

It  is  this  eventful  five  and  twenty 
years  with  which  our  story  is  occupied, 
and  which  of  necessity  renders  it  some- 
what fragmentary,  especially  toward  the 
close. 

For  that  portion  of  it  relating  to  New 
England  I  am  specially  indebted  to 
Palfrey's  "  New  England "  and  Foster's 
"  Life  of  Sir  Harry  Vane,  the  Younger,'* 
one  of  the  early  governors  of  Massachu- 
setts. For  the  rest,  Clarendon,  Lingard, 
Foster,  Carlyle,  and  several  other  au- 
thors, have  been  laid  under  contribu- 
tion. 

We  can  never  duly  estimate  the  debt 


8  PREFACE. 

we  owe  to  these  grand  old  pilgrim  fa- 
thers, to  whom  liberty  was  dearer  than 
life  ;  but  let  us  learn  this  lesson  from 
their  lives,  to  be  true,  and  brave,  and 
honest  in  following  our  convictions  of 
right,  never  turning  to  the  right  or  left, 
whether  loss  threaten  us  or  the  world 
and  its  gifts  tempt  us ;  so  shall  we  be 
true  children  of  these  noble  fathers,  and 
worthily  hand  down  the  sacred  gift  of 
religious  liberty  they  have  bequeathed 


Chief  Historical  Persons. 
HAMPDEN,  CUSHMAN, 

VANE,  COTTON, 

MILTON,  CROMWELL. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  UNEXPECTED  GUESTS 13 

II.  A  VISIT  TO  HAMPDEN 26 

III.  HARRY  SAXBY 40 

IV.  BAD  NEWS 54 

V.  WAS  IT  WITCHCRAFT  ? 68 

VI.  IN  LONDON 81 

VII.  A  SOCIAL  EVENING 94 

VIII.  GAMMER  GROVE 107 

IX.  TRYING  THE  WITCH 121 

X.  THE  PILGRIM  FATHERS 136 

XI.  ANOTHER  CITATION  FROM  THE  BISHOP 149 

XII.  KING  JAMES  AND  HIS  PARLIAMENT 162 

XIII.  AT  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  SPREAD  EAGLE 176 

XIV.  A  STRANGE  MEETING 189 

XV.  DAME  MEREDITH 204 

XVI.  HARRY  VANE 217 

XVII.  BITTER  DISAPPOINTMENTS 230 

XVIII.  ROUNDHEAD  AND  ROYALIST 243 

XIX.  NEW  BOSTON 256 

XX.  GOVERNOR  VANE 269 

XXI.  PERPLEXITIES 283 

XXII.  CONCLUSION 300 


Illustrations. 


MM 

THE  SAILING  OP  THE  MAYFLOWBR  AND  SPEEDWELL 
FROM  SOUTHAMPTON 2 

TRYING  THE  WITCH 133 

THE  CHILDREN  FIND  A  FRIEND 197 

FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER 297 


SAXBY: 

A  TALE  OF  0LD  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

UNEXPECTED   GUESTS. 

EVENING  was  drawing  on  apace  as  a  par- 
ty of  travelers  entered  a  little  village 
clustered  at  the  foot  of  the  chalky  Chiltern 
Hills  in  Buckinghamshire.  They  had  evident- 
ly ridden  some  miles  by  the  jaded  appearance 
of  their  horses,  and,  as  they  paused  near  the 
blacksmith's  forge  to  make  some  inquiries,  the 
villagers  from  the  neighboring  ale-house  im- 
proved this  opportunity  to  indulge  their  curi- 
osity, and  make  various  surmises  as  to  the 
business  that  could  have  brought  them  to  this 
out-of-the-way  village;  for  Great  Kimble  did 
not  often  see  strangers  from  London. 

"  I  know  they  come  from  London,  and  I 
know  for  sure  it  is  Master  Hampden  they  have 
come  to  see.  Dame  Saxby  will  be  at  her  wit's 
end  for  entertainment  of  such  a  party," 


14  SAXBY. 

said  the  blacksmith,  gazing  after  the  horse- 
men. 

"  Did  you  notice  the  handsome  green  satin 
doublet  one  of  them  wore?"  said  his  wife, 
who  had  likewise  come  out  to  look  after  the 
strangers. 

"  Leave  a  woman  alone  to  see  the  finery," 
laughed  a  neighbor;  "but  talking  of  that  green 
satin  doublet  makes  me  think  that  he  who 
wore  it  comes  farther  than  London.  He  comes 
from  beyond  seas,  and  I  should  like  to  know 
the  business  that  brings  him  to  Great  Kimble." 

Many  others  felt  the  same  curiosity,  if  they 
did  not  so  openly  express  it,  and  in  this  they 
were  not  far  behind  Dame  Saxby  herself,  who 
was  in  no  small  flutter  of  surprise  and  anxiety 
at  being  so  suddenly  called  upon  to  provide  for 
such  a  large  party.  Haifa  dozen  hungry  horse- 
men are  a  considerable  addition  to  supper,  and 
to  one  who  prided  herself  on  the  bountifulness 
of  her  entertainments  it  was  rather  vexatious. 

"  What  could  have  brought  them  down  upon 
us  in  this  sudden  manner  is  what  I  cannot 
understand,"  muttered  the  dame,  as  she  or- 
dered her  serving-maids  to  bring  out  all  the 
loaves  in  the  pantry,  and  to  put  down  a  joint 
of  meat  on  the  spit  lest  the  cold  chine  of  beef 
should  not  be  sufficient. 


Unexpected  Guests.  1 5 

Her  husband,  knowing  little  and  caring  less 
about  his  wife's  vexation,  was  issuing  orders 
for  the  care  of  their  horses,  and  expressing  his 
delight  at  seeing  so  many  friends.  Even  the 
stranger  from  "  beyond  seas  "  was  made  to  feel 
himself  included  in  the  hearty  welcome ;  and 
when  they  were  all  seated  in  the  keeping- 
room,  and  Master  Saxby  at  liberty  to  talk  to 
them,  while  the  maids  spread  the  supper  on 
the  long  oaken  table,  he  gave  expression  to 
what  was  puzzling  so  many  brains  just  at  that 
moment. 

"  Now  tell  us  something  of  the  London 
news.  What  has  brought  such  a  party  of  noble 
gentlemen  to  Great  Kimble  ?  " 

"  Well,  Master  Saxby,  the  latest  talk  among 
some  is  the  discovery  recently  made  by  Dr. 
William  Harvey,  that  the  blood  goes  racing 
round  our  body  like  as  the  brook  we  saw  a 
mile  off  tumbles  down  the  side  of  your  chalky 
hills." 

Master  Saxby  laughed.  "  So  you  have  come 
to  tell  me  the  wild  fantasies  of  a  madman," 
he  said. 

"Nay,  but  'tis  no  madness,  they  say;  but 
sober  truth,  and  will  work  such  changes  in  the 
curing  of  bodily  ills  as  the  world  has  never 
seen." 


1 6  SAXBY. 

"  So  this  Dr.  Harvey  has  discovered  the  old 
alchemist's  secret  at  last,  and  will  give  us  an 
endless  life,"  said  their  host. 

"  Few  would  thank  him  for  that  in  these 
times,"  remarked  a  sober-looking  man,  who 
had  not  spoken  before. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it,  Master 
Shipton?" 

"  I  know  but  little  of  the  art  of  leechcraft 
myself,  but  I  have  heard  it  said  by  some  who 
are  skilled  in  these  things  that  Dr.  Harvey  is 
right,  and  our  blood  doth  as  surely  move 
through  our  veins  as  that  the  king's  new  Bible 
is  every-where  printed  and  being  sold." 

Dame  Saxby  had  come  in  now,  and  at  once 
exclaimed,  "  Our  blood  move  !  dear  heart,  the 
world  is  getting  too  wise.  Peeping  and  pry- 
ing into  such  things  is  presumption ;  nothing 
but  tempting  Providence,  and  I  wonder  the 
king  does  not  forbid  it." 

"  Nay,  but,  good  dame,  are  we  not  taught 
that  our  bodies  are  the  temple  of  God  ?  and 
docs  it  not  behoove  us  to  learn  all  we  can  con- 
cerning its  mysteries,  that  this  temple  be  not 
defiled  or  made  unfit  for  his  habitation?" 

44  Nay,  if  God  had  intended  us  to  know  these 
things  he  would  not  have  made  them  mys- 
teries at  all.  We  must  beware  of  witchcraft  in 


Unexpected  Guests.  17 

these  days,  Master  Shipton,"  concluded  Dame 
Saxby,  decisively. 

At  this  moment  the  host's  three  sons  en- 
tered the  room.  The  eldest  was  a  fine,  hand- 
some young  fellow,  about  twenty;  the  young- 
est, a  lad  of  fourteen,  but  almost  as  tall  as  his 
stalwart  brother.  They  were  plainly  dressed 
in  homespun  cloth  ;  for  although  Master  Sax- 
by was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Bucking- 
hamshire his  sons  helped  on  the  home  farm, 
and  never  thought  of  despising  such  homely 
work,  although  a  longing  to  go  abroad  and  see 
something  of  the  world  had  seized  Harry,  the 
eldest. 

As  soon  as  the  strangers  had  been  intro- 
duced the  family  took  their  seats  at  the  supper- 
table — master  and  guests  at  one  end,  and  the 
maids  and  two  serving-men  below  the  salt  at 
the  other.  The  bright  pewter  plates  shone 
like  silver,  and  the  home-made  bread  and  rich 
golden  butter,  to  say  nothing  of  the  huge  slices 
of  beef,  were  enough  to  tempt  a  more  fastidi- 
ous appetite  than  either  of  our  travelers  had. 
For  a  few  minutes  after  grace  was  said  noth- 
ing was  heard  but  the  clatter  of  knives  and 
forks. 

When  the  meal  was  over  Dame  Saxby  in- 
vited her  guests  to  go  to  the  wainscotted  parlor, 


1 8  SAXBY. 

for  she  had  no  notion  of  her  serving-maids 
wasting  the  time  they  might  use  at  their  spin- 
ning-wheels, or  having  their  heads  turned  by 
"  London  news ; "  so  Master  Saxby  and  his 
eldest  son  went  with  their  guests,  while  Roger 
went  to  give  a  last  look  at  the  stables  and 
see  that  every  thing  was  made  secure  for  the 
night. 

"  Now,  Master  Saxby,  we  will  tell  you  the 
cause  of  our  errand,"  said  one,  as  soon  as  they 
were  seated  in  the  parlor.  "  I  thought  it  not 
well  to  speak  of  it  before  the  wenches,  for  our 
king  is  by  no  means  inclined  to  give  such  help 
as  many  hoped  he  would  to  this  cause  for 
which  our  friend,  Master  Groebel,  here  has 
journeyed  from  Bohemia." 

"It  is  about  the  affairs  of  the  emperor?" 
said  Master  Saxby  questioningly. 

"  It  is  the  cause  of  freedom  and  religious 
liberty,"  said  the  stranger  warmly,  and  speak- 
ing in  very  good  English,  although  with  a 
foreign  accent.  "  It  is  whether  we  will  see 
our  beloved  land,  our  dear  Bohemia,  and  all 
Germany  too,  for  that  matter,  handed  over  as 
the  bond-slaves  of  Rome,  or  whether  we  will 
cast  off  the  fetters  before  they  are  riveted  upon 
us  forever." 

"  Nay,  but  I  thought  the  electors  of  Ger- 


Unexpected  Guests  19 

many  had  formed  an  Evangelic  Union  among 
themselves  to  prevent  such  a  thing  as  this 
happening,"  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  Yes,  they  have ;  but  they  are  not  strong 
enough  to  do  this  unaided,  while  so  many 
stand  aloof  from  them.  It  is  not  their  fault 
that  Calvinists  and  the  followers  of  Zwingle  are 
as  liable  to  persecution  now  from  their  popish 
rulers  as  they  were  fifty  years  ago ;  that  none 
but  Lutherans  are  allowed  the  free  exercise  of 
their  religion.  The  Treaty  of  Nassau,  which 
raised  them  from  an  oppressed  party  to  the 
possession  of  equal  rights  with  their  neighbors, 
but  likewise  prevented  others  from  seceding 
from  the  Romish  faith  unless  they  would  risk 
the  loss  of  all  their  earthly  possessions,  has 
been  as  great  a  trouble  to  the  Lutherans  as  the 
Calvinists ;  but  by  taking  the  side  of  the  Em- 
peror Matthias  in  the  late  struggle  we  thought 
we  had  secured  liberty  to  all  Protestants  ;  but 
this  dream  has  been  rudely  dispelled,  and  we 
of  Bohemia  find  ourselves  in  worse  case  than 
ever,  and  the  days  of  Huss  and  Jerome  will 
be  as  nothing  to  what  will  befall  us  in  the 
future." 

"  But  I  heard  that  the  emperor  was  about 
to  resign  the  kingdoms  of  Bohemia  and  Hun- 
gary to  his  nephew,"  said  Master  Saxby. 


2o  SAXBY. 

"  He  has  done  this,  and  our  case  is  so  much 
the  worse ;  for  Ferdinand  is  a  tyrant,  and 
trained  by  the  Jesuits  to  the  greatest  intoler- 
ance of  any  faith  but  his  own.  So  we  have 
cast  off  our  allegiance  to  him,  and  offered  our 
crown  to  the  Elector  Palatine,  the  husband  of 
the  Princess  Elizabeth." 

"  And  you  have  come  to  England  to  ask  aid 
of  King  James  ?  "  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  All  Germany  expects  it,  for  is  he  not  the 
head  of  the  Protestant  interest  in  Europe,  and 
in  the  new  Bible  which  he  has  lately  caused 
to  be  translated  is  he  not  called  '  Defender  of 
the  Faith  ? ' "  asked  Master  Groebel. 

His  host  smiled  and  shook  his  head.  "  Did 
not  this  same  '  Defender  of  the  Faith '  cause 
to  be  published  the  '  Book  of  Sports '  only  a 
few  months  since?  It  may  be  that,  coming 
from  beyond  seas,  you  have  not  yet  heard  of 
this ;"  and,  stepping  across  to  a  curiously 
carved  cabinet,  Master  Saxby  took  out  the 
royal  proclamation,  or  "  Declaration  to  En- 
courage Recreations  and  Sports  on  the  Lord's 
Day."  In  this  proclamation  it  was  announced 
to  be  the  royal  pleasure,  "  for  his  good  peo- 
ple's recreation,  that  after  the  end  of  the  divine 
service  they  should  not  be  disturbed,  letted, 
or  discharged  from  any  lawful  recreations, 


Unexpected  Guests.  21 

such  as  dancing,  either  of  men  or  women, 
archery  for  men,  leaping,  vaulting,  or  any  such 
harmless  recreations,  nor  having  of  May-poles, 
Whitsun  ales,  or  Morrice  dances,  or  setting  up 
of  May-poles,  or  other  sports  therewith  used  ; 
so  as  the  same  may  be  done  in  due  and  con- 
venient time  without  impediment  or  let  of  di- 
vine service." 

But  Master  Groebel  was  not  so  much 
shocked  at  the  reading  of  this  royal  procla- 
mation as  his  host  expected,  for  it  was  only 
among  those  who  were  striving  and  struggling 
for  a  purer  service  in  England  that  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  Sabbath  were  at  all  regarded. 
Among  the  Protestants  of  the  Continental 
countries  Sunday,  although  set  apart  for  di- 
vine service,  was  not  kept  as  a  day  holy  to  the 
Lord,  and  so  the  stranger  could  not  sympa- 
thize in  the  feeling  this  royal  proclamation 
had  excited  in  the  minds  of  so  many  En- 
glishmen. 

"  I  am  not  one  of  the  Precisians  myself.  I 
go  to  church,  and  make  the  best  of  things  as 
they  are,"  said  Master  Saxby;  "but  I  hold 
with  the  Puritans  in  this,  that  if  the  service  in 
church  is  to  do  us  any  good — have  any  effect 
upon  our  every-day  life  afterward — then  these 
dances  and  May-poles  and  junketings  are  best 


22  SAXBY. 

left  alone  on  the  Lord's  day ;  otherwise  we 
had  better  change  the  name  and  call  it  the 
devil's  day,  for  he  is  most  served  in  these 
revels." 

"  Now  that  reminds  me,  Master  Saxby,  of 
my  mission,"  said  another  of  the  party.  "  I 
have  come  to  bear  these  good  friends  com- 
pany, and  seek  the  aid  of  all  who  love  purity 
of  worship  and  those  who  have  suffered  for 
it." 

"  What  now  ?"  asked  Master  Saxby. 

"  Well,  you  have  not  forgotten  that  about 
ten  or  twelve  years  since  some  of  these  Precis- 
ians went  from  these  parts  to  take  ship  for  the 
Low  Countries,  where,  it  was  said,  they  would 
have  freedom  of  worship." 

"  Forget !  Shall  I  ever  forget  our  godly 
minister,  Master  Brown,  who  was  summoned 
before  the  Bishop  and  cast  into  prison  because 
he  refused  to  wear  popish  finery,  to  admit 
godfathers  and  godmothers  at  a  child's  bap- 
tism, and  preached  the  gospel  so  ably  that 
half  the  people  in  the  place  became  so  enam- 
ored of  the  pure,  simple  service  he  introduced 
as  to  become  Puritans  indeed,  in  heart  and 
life,  as  well  as  in  their  love  of  a  pure  service?" 

"  Well,  it  is  from  these  same  good  neigh- 
bors I  have  heard  news  of  late,"  said  the 


Unexpected  Guests.  23 

guest.  "  They  were  farmers  here,  but  there  is 
little  of  that  they  can  do  in  Leyden." 

"  And  they  want  to  come  back?"  said  Mas- 
ter Saxby. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  their  coming  back  ? 
They  could  not  have  liberty  to  serve  God  as 
their  conscience  dictates  even  in  their  own 
houses.  They  must  go  to  the  parish  church 
and  take  part  in  this  half-popish  service.  No, 
they  would  fain  go  to  the  new  colony  in 
America.  The  Virginia  company  are  favora- 
ble to  the  plan,  but  as  yet  the  king  has  not 
granted  them  the  needful  license.  Meanwhile 
Master  Cushman  here,  and  Master  Carver, 
whom  we  left  in  London,  are  collecting  funds 
for  the  last  of  the  journey,  and — 

"  Right  gladly  will  I  help,"  said  Master 
Saxby,  "  and  to-morrow  I  will  take  you  all  to 
my  worthy  neighbor,  Master  John  Hampden, 
who  will  likewise  give  you  somewhat,  I  do  not 
doubt.  So  you,  too,  have  come  from  beyond 
seas,  Master  Cushman?" 

"  I  have  been  some  weeks  in  London  about 
this  business,"  answered  the  guest. 

"And  how  fares  it  with  our  countrymen  in 
those  strange  parts?"  asked  Master  Saxby. 

"  Poorly  enough.  You,  doubtless,  heard  of 
the  misfortune  that  befell  them  at  Boston  ; 


24  SAXBY. 

how  information  had  been  given  to  the  king 
and  bishops  of  their  intended  escape,  and  how 
when  the  men  helping  to  ship  their  stores  and 
furniture  were  all  on  board  an  alarm  was  raised 
that  they  were  about  to  be  seized  by  the  king's 
messenger.  The  shipmaster,  for  fear  of  troub- 
le to  himself,  at  once  weighed  anchor,  and, 
the  tide  serving,  put  off  to  sea,  leaving  nearly 
all  the  women  and  children  on  shore." 

"  Ah,  I  did  hear  something  of  a  party  of 
women  being  taken  by  the  king's  guard,  and 
they  knew  not  what  to  do  with  them,  for  they 
were  homeless  and  destitute.  But  it  was 
months  after  our  friends  had  left  us  here,  and 
so  I  had  no  thought  of  it  being  them." 

"  These  were  people  from  all  parts  of  En- 
gland, and  many  of  them  had  died  from  grief 
and  want  before  their  friends  could  take  ship 
and  return  in  search  of  them.  This  was  a 
great  blow  to  all  of  us,"  concluded  Cushman. 

"  Well,  well,  it  seems  a  pity  they  could  not 
stay  here  and  wait  for  better  times,"  said  Mas- 
ter Saxby,  taking  out  his  snuff-box,  and  hand- 
ing it  round,  to  the  company.  Snuff-taking 
was  one  of  the  newest  luxuries  of  the  time. 
Smoking  was  also  coming  into  fashion,  but 
Master  Saxby  was  not  very  likely  to  adopt 
that.  His  snuff-box  was  often  forgotten  for 


Unexpected  Guests.  25 

days,  but  he  prided  himself  on  not  being  be- 
hind the  times.  To  carry  a  snuff-box  gave 
him  little  inconvenience,  and  was  always  handy 
to  offer  a  friend. 

There  was  no  time  for  further  conversation 
now.  Dame  Saxby  had  appeared,  and  that 
was  the  signal  that  bed-time  had  come  ;  so  the 
guests  were  shown  to  their  rooms,  and  Master 
Saxby  afterward  told  his  wife  why  they  had 
come,  and  of  their  intended  visit  to  Master 
John  Hampden  in  the  morning. 


26  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  VISIT  TO   HAMPDEN. 

SOON  after  breakfast  the  next  morning  our 
travelers  again  mounted  their  horses,  and, 
as  Dame  Saxby  said  she  wanted  to  see  her 
friend,  Dame  Hampden,  about  some  new 
method  of  drying  herbs,  she  also  accompanied 
the  party,  riding  on  a  pillion  behind  her  hus- 
band. There  was  not  much  opportunity  for 
talking  by  the  way,  but  the  journey  was  not  a 
very  long  one,  and  they  were  still  within  sight 
of  the  white  chalky  hills  when  they  came 
to  the  gates  leading  to  Master  Hampden's 
house. 

He  was  one  of  the  largest  land-owners  in  the 
county,  and  his  mansion  bespoke  the  wealth 
of  which  he  was  possessed.  Unlike  his  neigh- 
bor Saxby,  who  prided  himself  on  his  farming, 
and  loved  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  old  farm 
buildings,  Hampden  resided  in  a  handsome 
mansion,  originally  built  in  the  early  Norman 
style,  but  to  which  various  additions  had  been 
made  by  his  ancestors.  Hampden  himself  had 
been  improving  it  lately  in  the  then  prevailing 


A    Visit  to  Hampdcn.  27 

style  of  architecture — the  castellated  or  Tudor 
— so  that  the  friends  knew  at  once,  before 
they  entered  the  house,  that  its  owner  was 
not  only  a  man  of  property,  but  of  taste  and 
refinement. 

The  interior  of  the  mansion  was  even  more 
handsome  than  the  exterior  —  the  spacious 
parlor  into  which  they  were  shown  being 
wainscoted  with  oak,  like  the  floor,  which  was 
polished  to  a  degree  that  only  those  used 
to  walking  on  polished  floors  could  find  any 
comfort  in.  The  chairs,  tables,  and  cabinets 
were  all  richly  carved  ;  but  when  John  Hamp- 
den  himself  walked  in  the  strangers  forgot 
their  surroundings.  He  was  plainly  dressed, 
but  the  calm  sweetness  of  his  refined  face  at 
once  attracted  attention. 

His  neighbor  Saxby  evidently  looked  up  to 
him  as  an  oracle,  young  as  he  was,  and  Groe- 
bel  and  Cushman  saw  at  once  that  the  success 
of  their  mission  in  this  neighborhood  would 
depend  upon  Master  Hampden's  opinion  of  it. 
Master  Saxby  himself  seemed  anxious  to  know 
what  he  thought  about  helping  the  German 
Protestants  in  their  struggle ;  for  about  the 
other  matter  there  could  be  little  doubt  what 
he  would  think  or  do. 

"  Master  Groebel  fears  they  will  get  little 


28  SAXBY. 

help  from  the  king,  and  I  have  been  thinking 
myself  it  is  a  fearsome  thing  to  rise  in  arms 
against  the  rightful  sovereign,"  said  Saxby 
doubtfully. 

"  It  is,  good  neighbor,  and  naught  could 
justify  it  until  all  other  means  have  been 
tried,"  said  Hampden. 

"  But  look  you,  good  sirs,  your  King  James 
has  come  to  the  throne  by  lawful  succession  ; 
he  has  not  been  set  over  you  by  the  will  of 
another.  If  your  merry  England  had  been 
handed  over  to  King  James  as  our  Bohemia 
has  been  given  to  Ferdinand,  would  you  hesi- 
tate to  elect  another  king  if  he  proved  a 
tyrant  ?  " 

"  God  grant  we  may  never  be  so  tried  ! "  said 
Hampden.  "  As  you  say,  sir,  there  is  no  par- 
allel between  the  right  of  King  James  and 
your  Ferdinand,  though  it  may  be  he  hesitates 
to  help  any  people  to  throw  off  their  allegiance 
to  their  sovereign,  for  he  has  a  large  belief  in 
the  divine  right  of  all  kings." 

"  Yes,  yes,  but  he  had  better  not  carry  that 
too  far,"  interrupted  Master  Saxby ;  "  England 
will  not  be  held  as  an  estate  to  be  farmed 
solely  for  his  benefit.  He  and  the  bishops 
are  carrying  things  with  a  very  high  hand 
against  these  poor  Puritans,  who  only  ask  to 


A  Visit  to  Hampden.  29 

serve  God  according  to  their  own  con- 
science." 

"  And  that  is  every  man's  natural  and  di- 
vine right,"  said  Hampden.  "  I  will  gladly 
help  our  countrymen  to  take  ship  to  America, 
and  it  may  be  I  can  help  them  to  get  the 
king's  consent.  I  will  write  to  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys  and  Sir  Robert  Maunton,  who  both 
have  much  influence  with  the  king.  I  wish  I 
could  help  you  as  easily,  Master  Groebel. 
You  want  men  as  well  as  money  to  help  in 
this  war,  and  I  do  not  doubt  many  will  volun- 
teer when  they  know  the  cause.  I  would  go 
myself,  but  I  am  a  married  man  now,  and  I 
know  not  how  soon  I  may  be  called  to  serve 
our  merry  England  in  another  kind  of  warfare, 
hardly  less  dangerous  in  these  times  than  a 
battle-field,  if  all  be  true  we  hear  of." 

Dame  Saxby  had  come  in  to  say  a  word  to 
her  husband  about  this  very  business,  and 
heard  what  he  said. 

"  God  save  us,  Master  Hampden,  but  the 
young  men  will  all  be  for  going  if  they  hear 
you  favor  this  German  war." 

"  Nonsense,  good  dame,  the  young  men  are 
not  so  easily  led  as  all  that;  and  many  of  them 
might  do  worse  than  helping  their  neighbors 
in  this  little  brush  for  liberty,  I  trow." 


30  SAXBY. 

"  'Tis  very  well  for  you  to  talk,  Master 
Hampden — you  have  no  sons  to  be  caught  by 
this  notion;  but  my  Harry  has  just  gone  crazy 
over  it." 

"Our  Harry!"  exclaimed  Master  Saxby, 
jumping  up  from  his  seat.  "  How  know  you 
this?" 

"  He  came  to  me  this  morning,  asking  that 
I  would  speak  to  you  upon  this  business,  as 
he  had  long  wished  to  go  abroad." 

"  Yes,  yes,    I   know  he   has  ;   but  —  but  — 
Well,  we  must  talk  him  out  of  this.     He  shall 
go  abroad — shall  go  to  Leyden  with   Master 
Cushman,  an  he  will." 

"  We  can  try  him ;  but  I  fear  me  it  is  the 
war  as  much  as  the  going  to  foreign  parts  that 
makes  him  desire  this  ;  for  it  was  with  difficul- 
ty I  could  persuade  him  to  wait  until  he  had 
heard  Master  Hampden's  opinion  before  offer- 
ing himself  to  Master  Groebel." 

"  Well,  my  good  friends,  I  need  not  tell  you 
how  gladly  I  should  welcome  your  son  as  a 
volunteer  in  our  cause;  but  I  pledge  you  my 
word  to  say  nothing  that  can  influence  him  in 
this  direction." 

"  Thank  you  ;  but  I  fear  our  talk  last  night 
has  already  done  the  mischief,"  said  Master 
Saxby  rather  ruefully. 


A  Visit. to  Hampden.  31 

"  Well,  I  would  not  grieve  overmuch  about 
it,  neighbor  Saxby ;  it  will  be  the  making  of  the 
young  fellow  to  go  abroad  and  see  the  world. 
This  will  be  but  a  brush,  soon  over,  I  doubt 
not,  and  then  he  will  come  back  and  settle 
down  for  life." 

Many,  like  Master  Hampden,  thought  the 
same  about  this  struggle  in  Germany — it  would 
soon  be  over ;  and  if  any  one  had  ventured  to 
tell  them  that  the  war  they  were  now  com- 
mencing would  prove  one  of  the  longest  and 
fiercest  conflicts  the  world  had  ever  seen,  they 
would  have  been  laughed  at  as  much  as  Dr. 
Harvey  was  for  announcing  that  the  blood  of 
our  body  is  not  stagnant. 

Dame  Saxby's  entrance  had  broken  up  the 
conversation  going  on  between  Hampden  and 
his  friends ;  but  they  accepted  his  invitation 
to  stay  to  dinner,  and  he  took  them  into  the 
woods  surrounding  the  house,  where,  through 
an  opening  in  the  range  of  hills,  they  had  one 
of  the  loveliest  views  spread  before  them  of 
sunny  meadows  and  leafy  dells  it  is  possible  to 
imagine. 

Meanwhile  Dame  Saxby  had  gone  to  pour 
out  her  grief  over  the  possible  loss  of  her  son 
to  Dame  Hampden. 

The  ladies  had  betaken  themselves  to  a  more 


32  SAXBY. 

plainly  furnished  room  than  the  gentlemen  oc- 
cupied— a  cozy,  comfortable  room,  with  broad, 
low,  cushioned  window-seats,  as  easy  as  a 
modern  couch.  It  was  Dame  Hampden's  own 
room,  and  here  stood  her  work-basket  and 
spinnet — one  of  her  husband's  numerous  wed- 
ding presents;  for  they  had  not  long  been 
married,  and  the  newly-wedded  couple  loved 
this  room,  and  often  sat  on  the  broad  window- 
seats,  looking  at  the  trimly-kept  flower-beds, 
and  talking  over  their  plans  for  the  future. 

The  two  ladies  sat  here  now  to  discuss 
housekeeping  matters.  Bustling  Dame  Saxby 
was  not  much  like  her  young  neighbor,  for 
Dame  Hampden  was  as  gentle  and  refined  as 
her  husband ;  but  she  could  esteem  the  sterling 
qualities  of  the  farmer's  wife,  her  mother's  old 
friend,  and  was  glad  to  learn  the  useful  lessons 
in  housewifery  which  the  notable  housekeeper 
was  equally  willing  to  teach. 

When  Dame  Hampden  heard  that  her  visit- 
ors would  stay  to  dinner,  she  quietly  went  to 
her  larder  and  pantry  to  look  over  her  stores ; 
ordered  another  haunch  to  be  put  down  on  the 
spit  and  another  pie  made ;  gave  out  what  was 
necessary  for  this,  and  then  went  back  to  en- 
tertain Dame  Saxby,  without  a  word  about 
the  trouble  it  cost  her — a  circumstance  Dame 


A  Visit  to  Hampden.  33 

Saxby  could  not  help  noticing,  it  was  so  unlike 
her  own  mode  of  proceeding  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  for  which  she  thought  she 
had  ample  excuse. 

"  Ah,  Bessie,  you  know  little  of  the  care  and 
trouble  of  housekeeping,"  she  said,  as  the 
young  matron  took  her  seat  again  ;  "  if  ever 
you  should  have  boys  to  take  up  foolish  no- 
tions, as  my  Harry  has  done  about  this  Ger- 
man war,  you  will  not  find  it  easy  to  take 
every  thing  so  quietly  as  you  do  now." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  but  I  should  know,  if  I  had 
children,  I  could  not  keep  them  with  me  al- 
ways ;  and  I  often  think  my  goodman  himself 
may  see  it  his  duty  to  join  in  the  fight  that 
will  ensue  when  the  king  shall  call  another 
Parliament." 

"  What  mean  you  ?  "  asked  Dame  Saxby  in 
a  fright.  "  Will  they  want  my  goodman  too  ?" 

Dame  Hampden  could  not  help  smiling  at 
her  friend's  consternation.  "  I  know  not  who 
may  be  wanted ;  but  should  he  be  called  to  do 
this  service  to  his  country,  you  would  not  sure- 
ly hold  him  back,  would  you  ?" 

"Hold  him  back?  I  could  not,  I  fear,  if 
Master  Hampden  urged  him  to  go ;  but  I  do 
hope  you  will  keep  him  from  running  into  such 
mischief.  I  have  heard  something  of  the  dan- 


34  SAXBY. 

ger  of  Parliament  men,  and  'tis  almost  as  bad 
as  going  to  the  war :  for,  of  course,  the  king 
is  angry  when  they  tell  him,  as  they  do,  that 
he  must  not  do  this  or  that.  I  expect  to  hear 
that  every  Parliament  man  is  ruined  with  the 
fines  he  has  to  pay,  or  else  that  he  has  put 
them  all  into  prison.  I  could  not  sleep  at 
night,  or  have  one  bit  of  peace  through  the 
day,  if  my  goodman  went  to  Parliament ;  and 
I  hope  Master  Hampden  will  never  think  of*it 
either." 

"  But  he  does  think  of  it,  and  we  often 
talk  about  it.  He  says  these  subsidies  being 
levied  and  customs  imposed  at  the  king's  will 
are  undermining  our  English  liberties." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  Of  course,  I  grum- 
bled, like  every  other  goodwife,  at  the  duty 
being  put  upon  currants,  for  they  were  dear 
enough  before ;  but,  then,  I  would  rather  pay 
this  than  that  my  goodman  should  go  to  Par- 
liament to  be  fined  and  imprisoned." 

"  We  will  hope  the  king  will  be  more  reason- 
able, and  then  there  will  be  less  danger  of 
this,"  said  Dame  Hampden  soothingly. 

But  Dame  Saxby  would  not  be  coaxed  into 
acquiescence.  "  I  don't  see  what  they  want  to 
go  at  all  for,"  she  said  peevishly;  "A  few  ex- 
tra duties  on  different  things,  though  they  are 


A  Visit  to  Hampden.  35 

vexing,  can  never  make  much  difference  to  you 
or  us  either,  and  so  I  don't  see  why  Master 
Hampden  should  trouble  himself  to  go  to  Par- 
liament about  it.  I  hope  he  wont,  either." 

"  He  may  not  have  the  opportunity,  although 
it  is  thought  by  some  the  king  will  soon  be 
compelled  to  summon  a  Parliament.  Master 
Hampden  thinks  there  ought  to  be  a  law  com- 
pelling this  to  be  done ;  for  'tis  four  or  five 
years  now  since  the  last  Parliament  was  dis- 
solved. My  cousin,  Master  Oliver  Cromwell, 
who  is  studying  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  was  here  a 
few  days  since,  and  he  says  the  merchants  of 
London  are  growing  tired  of  lending  the  king 
money,  and  so  a  Parliament  must  be  sum- 
moned to  obtain  fresh  supplies  shortly." 

"  And  you  really  think  Master  Hampden 
will  go  to  be  a  Parliament  man  ?  Why  should 
he  take  all  this  trouble?  Why  can't  he  stop 
here  and  look  after  his  own  affairs,  and  enjoy 
his  books,  and  this  fine  house,  and  all  the 
blessings  God  has  given  him?" 

"  Why,  good  dame,  you  surely  would  not 
have  him  forget  duty  in  enjoyment.  I  know 
little  of  such  matters  myself,  but  he  says,  if 
there  is  not  some  resistance  made  now  to  the 
encroachments  of  the  king  upon  the  rights  and 

liberties  of  the  people,  they  will  soon  be  little 
3 


36  SAXBV. 

better  than  his  slaves,  and  the  whole  realm  of 
England  but  an  estate  to  be  farmed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  court.  He  has  told  me  of  our 
poor  neighbors,  who  were  obliged  to  leave  this 
parish  a  few  years  ago  and  journey  to  the  Low 
Countries,  that  they  might  have  liberty  to  wor- 
ship God  more  simply  and  purely  than  the 
king  and  bishops  would  allow  them  here.  Can 
you  wonder  that  Master  Hampden  should  long 
to  remedy  these  things  if  ever  he  be  called  to 
help  in  the  noble  work  ?  " 

"  Then  you  will  not  try  to  hold  him  back  ?  " 
said  Dame  Saxby. 

"  Nay ;  how  could  I  ?  It  would  be  selfish  to 
do  other  than  help  him  bear  this  burden  of 
duty." 

"  You  !  Good  dame,  you  have  surely  lost 
your  senses  this  morning.  They  do  not  want 
women  in  the  Parliament,  I  trow  !  " 

"  Nay,  nay,  but  women  must  else  help  their 
lords  in  other  affairs  an  they  are  to  go  with  a 
quiet  mind  to  the  business  of  the  State,"  said 
the  lady  quickly;  and  a  sudden  rosy  flush  suf- 
fused her  delicate  cheeks  as  she  added,  "  Per- 
haps you  think  these  are  presumptuous  words 
from  one  who  knows  little  beyond  the  order- 
ing of  the  house  and  the  tending  of  poultry." 

"  Nay,  I  doubt  not  you  could  do  any  thing 


A  Visit  to  Hampden.  37 

an  you  willed  it,  for  you  are  quick  at  learning, 
and — and  brave,  too,"  said  Dame  Saxby,  with 
a  quivering  voice. 

At  this  moment  they  saw  Master  Hampden 
and  his  guests  returning  to  the  house,  his  young 
but  thoughtful  face  even  more  thoughtful  and 
grave  as  he  listened  to  Master  Groebel,  who 
walked  by  his  side.  As  they  entered  the  house 
the  clock  struck  twelve,  and  Dame  Saxby 
glanced  down  at  her  tight-laced  bodice  and 
silver  lace-trimmed  skirt,  for  she  knew  the 
summons  to  dinner  would  follow  immediately. 

John  Hampden's  dining-room,  or  "  keeping- 
room,"  was  as  far  superior  to  her  own  as  the 
silver  plates  and  dishes  on  the  table  were  to 
the  Saxby  well-scoured  pewter  ones  ;  but  she 
noted,  with  something  of  a  grim  satisfaction, 
that  the  haunch  of  venison  would  have  been 
the  better  for  another  turn  or  two  on  the  spit, 
and  her  sharp  eyes  detected  that  one  of  the 
pasties  had  been  slightly  burned,  occurrences 
that  would  have  inevitably  brought  a  storm  of 
angry  reproaches  upon  her  own  serving-maids, 
but  were  passed  over  by  Dame  Hampden  with 
a  whispered  word  of  caution  that  none  of  her 
guests  but  Dame  Saxby  was  ever  aware  of. 
Neither  did  they  see  the  defects  in  the  dinner, 
apparently,  for  they  all  ate  a,  hearty  meal  and 


38  SAXBY. 

did  ample  justice  to  the  confections  that  fol- 
lowed, with  which  even  Dame  Saxby  herself 
could  find  no  fault. 

Looking  round  at  the  handsomely  furnished 
room,  the  well-appointed  table,  and  the  cup- 
board of  plate  that  bespoke  the  wealth  and 
refinement  of  the  loving  couple  that  owned  all 
this,  Dame  Saxby  could  not  but  wonder  again 
that  her  young  host  should  think  of  encount- 
ering the  perils  and  dangers  of  a  parliamentary 
life.  John  Hampden  was  at  this  time  little 
more  than  five  and  twenty,  and  seemed  to  be 
one  of  the  happiest  of  men — one  upon  whom 
fortune  had  showered  some  of  her  richest  gifts 
— and  why  he  could  not  be  content  to  gather 
these  up  and  leave  the  rest  of  the  world  to 
take  care  of  itself  was  a  puzzle  Dame  Saxby 
could  not  understand.  To  mind  one's  own 
business  was  half  the  fulfillment  of  the  law, 
at  least  according  to  Dame  Saxby's  creed,  and 
that  gentle  Dame  Hampden  should  talk  so 
calmly  of  her  goodman  rushing  into  such  dan- 
ger was  a  marvel  that  swallowed  up  all  other 
thoughts. 

At  last  a  horrible  suspicion  began  to  creep 
into  her  mind  to  account  for  this.  There  must 
be  a  witch  in  the  neighborhood,  who,  envious 
of  the  wealth  and  happiness  of  the  handsome 


A  Visit  to  Hampden.  39 

young  couple,  had  begun  to  weave  her  spells 
around  them  both  in  order  to  work  them  most 
direful  sorrow  and  wrong.  The  thought  of 
these  potent  machinations  and  their  too-prob- 
able success  almost  made  Dame  Saxby  speech- 
less for  a  time,  and  she  said  but  little  after 
dinner  until  she  bade  her  hostess  farewell ;  and 
then  she  bade  "  God  bless  "  her  with  a  fervency 
that  made  Dame  Hampden  think  she  was  in 
full  accord  with  what  they  had  been  talking 
about,  and  that  she  would  let  her  son  go  to 
serve  the  Protestant  cause  in  Germany  without 
further  opposition. 


40  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HARRY     SAXBY. 

WITH  thoughts  of  witchcraft  still  in  her 
mind,  Dame  Saxby  rode  on  behind  her 
husband,  silent  and  absorbed,  trying  to  recall 
all  she  had  heard  concerning  several  old  women 
In  the  neighborhood,  until  her  reverie  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  checking  of  the  horse  and  her 
husband  exclaiming,  "  Why,  there's  Harry 
coming  to  meet  us  !  " 

"  Harry !  "  repeated  Dame  Saxby,  looking 
up  the  road,  but  failing  to  recognize  her  own 
son  in  the  handsomely  dressed  gentleman  ap- 
proaching them. 

The  doublet  of  coarse  homespun  had  been 
laid  aside,  and  Master  Harry  Saxby,  in  doublet 
of  purple  broadcloth,  short  velvet  cloak,  slashed 
hose  to  match,  and  lace  collar,  looked  every 
inch  a  gentleman.  He  was  walking  leisurely 
along  the  road,  and  lifted  his  hat,  with  its  long 
red  feather,  as  he  saw  his  mother  gazing  at 
him. 

"  Whither  away  now,  Master  Harry,  in  all 
that  finery  ?  "  said  his  father,  reining  in  his 


Harry  Saxby.  41 

ambling  steed,  while  Dame  Saxby  could  only 
stare  at  him  in  blank  amazement  for  a  minute 
or  two. 

Harry  made  some  excuse  about  Roger  be- 
ing old  enough  to  look  after  the  men  in  his 
father's  absence. 

"  The  callant  is  not  to  be  trusted,"  said  his 
mother  sharply,  "  and,  besides,  there  is  no  Mor- 
fice  dancing  or  junketing  to-day,  and  so — " 

"  I  have  not  cared  so  much  for  the  junket- 
ings of  late  that  you  need  begrudge  me  this 
holiday,"  said  Harry  in  a  tone  of  some  defiance. 

"  But  wherefore  take  the  holiday  to-day,  my 
boy  ?  "  said  his  father,  wondering  what  could 
have  happened  to  make  his  son  forget  all  at 
once  the  reverence  due  to  his  parents. 

Dame  Saxby  herself  was  so  astonished  that 
she  could  not  say  a  word  until  her  son,  blush- 
ing at  his  own  temerity,  said,  "  I  am  going  to 
talk  to  Master  John  Hampden  about  various 
matters.  You  will  not  leave  us  until  to-mor- 
row ?  "  he  said,  turning  quickly  toward  Master 
Groebel,  who  stood  at  a  little  distance. 

"  Harry,  Harry,  don't  go  ;  the  Hampdens 
are  bewitched.  I  know  they  are,"  said  Dame 
Saxby  in  a  fearful  whisper. 

Her  husband  turned  round  in  his  saddle  and 
looked  at  her.  "  How  now,  dame  ?  was  the 


42  SAXBY. 

wine  too  strong  for  your  weak  woman's  head, 
or  is  it  the  sun  and  that  warm  hood  ?  " 

"  I  have  tasted  wine  before  to-day,  and  as 
for  the  hood,  I  have  worn  it  these  two  years, 
John  Saxby,  and  know  well  what  I  am  saying." 

"  But,  my  mother,  you  cannot  surely  mean 
that  Master  Hampden  is  really  bewitched — is 
he  ill?" 

"  No,  no  ;  as  well  as  ever  I  saw  him,"  said 
the  father.  "This  is  but  a  fantasie,  dame. 
Has  Dame  Hampden  been  telling  you  any  vil- 
lage gossip  ?  " 

"  We  never  talk  about  village  gossip,"  said 
Dame  Saxby  loftily.  "  Help  me  down,  Harry, 
for  it's  true  enough,  what  I  tell  you.  The 
Hampdens  are  bewitched,  and  I'll  tell  you  all 
about  it  as  we  walk  home." 

Harry  Saxby  looked  disconcerted,  but  what 
could  he  do  but  turn  back  with  his  mother, 
whom  he  began  to  think  was  herself  bewitched, 
or  something  nearly  akin  to  it,  to  propose 
telling  him  "  all  about  it " — a  concession  to 
his  manhood  never  made  before  ? 

But  when  her  husband  and  his  guests  had 
rode  on,  Dame  Saxby  hardly  knew  how  to  be- 
gin her  recital  of  what  she  had  heard  from 
Dame  Hampden,  so  as  to  enforce  upon  Harry 
the  duty  of  staying  at  home  to  look  after  the 


Harry  Saxby.  43 

farm,  as  his  father  had  always  done  ;  and  so  she 
hurried  over  what  she  had  learned  concerning 
the  probability  of  Master  Hampden  going  to 
Parliament,  and  impressed  upon  him  the  ne- 
cessity of  keeping  out  of  the  way  of  all  be- 
witched persons. 

Harry  Saxby  was  quite  sensible  of  the  dan- 
ger of  falling  under  such  spells,  for  the  belief 
in  witchcraft  was  very  deep  and  very  general ; 
and  though  he  had  once  tried  to  save  a  poor 
old  woman  from  being  drowned,  he  was  more 
than  half  ashamed  of  it  as  a  sort  of  weakness 
that  ought  to  be  trampled  down  where  witches 
were  concerned.  But  still,  although  fully  alive 
to  the  danger  his  mother  feared  fer  their 
friends,  he  was  far  more  deeply  impressed  by 
the  fact  that  Master  Hampden  should  think  it 
his  duty  to  leave  his  home  and  family  to  serve 
his  country ;  and  he  said  promptly,  "  Then, 
my  mother,  I  am  sure  it  is  my  duty  to  serve 
the  cause  of  God  and  true  religion  by  going 
with  this  Master  Groebel." 

"  Go  to  the  wars  ?  But  these  people  are 
nothing  to  us,  Harry.  Master  Hampden 
would  serve  his  own  countrymen,  but  not 
these  Germans." 

"  But  they  are  Protestants,  trying  to  save 
themselves  from  the  pope,  and  so  we  ought 


44  SAXBY. 

to  help  them — I  must  help  them,"  he  added, 
decisively. 

"  Nonsense,  Harry.  What  can  it  matter  to 
you  about  these  people  ?  Of  course  we  should 
be  sorry  if  the  pope  got  the  better  of  them ; 
but  then  he  wont,  I'm  sure." 

"  But  I  am  not  so  sure,"  said  Harry.  "  And 
I  want  to  do  my  part  to  prevent  it.  Look  you, 
mother,  I've  never  forgotten  about  the  people 
that  went  away  from  here  years  ago — the  Pre- 
cisians or  Puritans,  as  people  call  them.  I  was 
only  a  little  boy  then,  but  I  remember  wishing 
I  could  go  and  fight  the  king,  or  whoever  it 
was  that  turned  the  ministers  out  and  would 
not  let  them  even  have  preaching  in  their  own 
houses ;  I've  wished  it  on  and  off  ever  since,  I 
think ;  and  when  I've  been  practicing  single 
stick  and  archery  I've  thought  if  ever  I  had 
the  chance  of  fighting  a  real  foe — if  ever  such 
times  should  come  back  to  England  as  I  heard 
grandfather  talk  about,  when  they  burned  peo- 
ple at  the  stake  for  not  owning  the  pope — well, 
mother,  I've  often  thought  I  should  fight  for 
my  rights  first  if  they  burned  me  afterward." 

Dame  Saxby  looked  up  at  her  fine,  hand- 
some son,  half  in  admiration,  half  in  astonish- 
ment at  such  a  bold  avowal ;  but  it  would  not 
do  to  let  him  think  she  was  any  thing  but  dis- 


Harry  Saxby.  45 

pleased.  "  Hush,  hush,  Harry,  you  must  not 
talk  of  fighting  for  your  rights.  The  blessed 
martyrs,  who  were  ready  to  die  rather  than 
deny  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  never  thought  of 
fighting  for  their  rights  as  you  call  it." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  perhaps  they  hardly  knew 
whether  they  had  any;  but  we  are  learning 
that  lesson  in  these  days,  and  I  mean  to 
teach  the  pope  and  emperor  that  an  En- 
glishman is  ready  to  fight  for  his  own  or  an- 
other man's,  especially  when  they  are  rights  of 
conscience." 

"  Harry,  Harry,  I  believe  you  are  bewitched 
yourself,"  said  Dame  Saxby  in  a  voice  of  pain, 
for  she  began  to  see  how  useless  it  would  be 
to  try  and  keep  this  her  darling  son  in  the  old 
nest  any  longer. 

When  they  reached  home  they  found  their 
three  guests,  Groebel,  Cushman,  and  Shipton, 
seated  in  the  wainscoted  parlor,  while  their 
three  attendants  had  gone  to  the  orchard  with 
Roger. 

"  Mother,  you  have  told  my  father  of  my  de- 
sire to  go  to  the  wars — what  said  he  ?  "  asked 
the  young  man  in  a  whisper  as  they  paused  for 
a  moment  in  the  rustic  porch. 

"  I  hardly  know  now.     But,  my  boy — " 

"  Mother,"  interrupted  the  young  man,  "  if 


46  SAX  BY. 

I  had  died  of  the  plague  you  would  say  God 
had  taken  me.  Now  I  just  want  you  to  give 
me' to  him,  or  lend  me  for  a  little  while;  for  I 
promise  you  I  will  come  home  again  as  soon 
as  the  war  is  over;  and  Master  Groebel  hopes 
that  when  once  the  Elector  Palatine  is  firmly 
seated  on  the  throne  of  Bohemia  the  Protestant 
cause  will  be  so  strong  that  there  will  be  no 
need  of  any  further  help  from  England." 

"  Yes,  yes,  but  suppose  the  Elector  should 
fail;  what  then,  my  boy?" 

Harry  could  only  shake  his  head.  "  I  don't 
know  what  the  Protestants  would  do  then  ;  but 
I  don't  suppose  the  cause  would  be  hopeless. 
God  would  never  let  Luther's  work  be  swept 
away  from  Germany.  We  owe  these  Protest- 
ants a  debt,  mother.  We  received  much 
light  and  truth  from  them,  and  I  think  God 
would  have  us  pay  it  now  by  helping  them  in 
their  struggle  to  maintain  this  truth  against  all 
the  Catholic  powers  of  Europe.  The  king 
ought  to  do  it — his  own  daughter  will  be  made 
queen  of  Bohemia;  but  if  he  wont,  then  the 
people  must  do  what  they  can,  and  I  will  be 
one  of  them." 

It  seemed  useless  to  argue  with  the  young 
man,  his  mind  was  so  set  upon  this ;  but  Dame 
Saxby  resolved  to  try  once  more. 


Harry  Saxby.  47 

"  Harry,  this  place  is  dull  for  you  after  being 
at  college.  I  will  speak  to  your  father  pres- 
ently, and  you  shall  go  back  to  Cambridge. 
You  are  strong  now,  and  may  not  catch  the 
plague,  even  if  it  should  breakout  there  again, 
or  at  least  you  could  come  home  as  soon  as  it 
made  its  appearance.  I  will  not  oppose  your 
going  to  college  any  longer,  my  boy,"  for 
Dame  Saxby  had  firmly  set  her  face  against 
this  since  her  darling  had  so  nearly  died  of  the 
pestilence  about  a  twelvemonth  before.  But 
Cambridge  was  nearer  than  Germany,  and 
learning,  even  with  the  risk  of  catching  the 
plague,  was  not  so  dangerous  as  fighting ;  so 
she  almost  besought  her  son  to  return  there. 

But  Harry  shook  his  head.  "  I  am  more  fit 
for  a  soldier  than  a  scholar,  my  mother,"  he 
said ;  "  and  this  strong  right  arm  can  deal  trusty 
blows  at  the  Papists  and  all  who  would  trample 
out  the  light  of  God's  truth.  Say  you  will  give 
me  to  God's  service — to  fight  in  this  war  for 
truth  and  liberty,"  pleaded  Harry. 

"  Well,  if  I  must,  I  must ;  but  are  you  sure 
there  is  not  some  unholy  spell  upon  you  to 
make  you  wish  for  this  thing?  " 

"You  fear  that  I  too  am  bewitched.  Be 
easy,  my  mother ;  these  thoughts,  as  I  tell 
you,  have  long  been  working  in  my  mind,  and 


48  SAXBY. 

Master  Groebel's  words  did  but  fan  them  into 
a  flame  of  burning  desire." 

Dame  Saxby  could  not  stay  longer  talking, 
for  her  maids  had  already  been  left  too  long  to 
their  own  devices ;  and,  after  taking  off  her  hood 
and  changing  her  dress,  she  went  through  the 
kitchen  and  pantry,  dairy  and  cheese  room, 
scolding  pretty  freely  all  around. 

The  maids  saw  at  once  that  something  had 
happened  to  disturb  their  mistress,  and  were 
not  long  in  guessing  where  the  trouble  lay. 

"  The  young  master  is  all  for  leaving  home 
again,  I  know,"  said  Deb,  the  cook,  who  had 
come  to  live  at  the  farm  first  as  nurse-girl 
to  carry  Master  Harry  about  when  he  was  a 
baby. 

"  Then  Roger  and  Lawrence  will  get  things 
all  their  own  way  if  he  should  go,"  said  Sally, 
the  dairy-maid. 

"  I  don't  know.  The  master  wont  give 
things  up  to  them  as  he  has  done  to  Master 
Harry  lately,  for  the  land  will  never  be  theirs ; 
and  why  they  should  be  so  jealous  of  their 
brother's  having  something  to  do  with  what 
will  one  day  be  his  own  I  cannot  understand. 
Master  Roger  is  the  worst,  that  is  certain,  and 
leads  Master  Lawrence  to  tease  and  vex  his 
brother." 


Harry  Saxby.  49 

"  Can  this  be  driving  him  away  from  home, 
do  you  think?  "  said  Sally  in  a  whisper. 

"  What  next  will  you  get  into  your  head, 
Sally  ?  No,  no,  Larry  is  but  a  tiresome  boy, 
fond  of  mischief  and  fond  of  Roger,  and  since 
he  sees  it  pleases  Roger  for  him  to  vex  Master 
Harry  he  often  does  it." 

"  Then  you  don't  think  they  really  dislike 
him  ?  "  said  Sally. 

"  Dislike  him  !  why  should  they  ?  Isn't  he 
the  kindest-hearted  gentleman  in  Great  Kim- 
ble?  No,  no,  Sally,  it's  just  a  little  bit  of  jeal- 
ousy that  will  wear  off  by  and  by,  and  I  dare 
say  they  will  be  as  sorry  as  any  body  that  he 
is  going  away." 

"  Well,  well,  I  am  glad  you  think  so.  I've 
sometimes  thought  if  ever  Master  Roger  had 
the  chance  of  doing  his  brother  an  ill  turn  he 
would,  and  I'm  older  and  have  seen  more  of 
the  world  than  you,  Deb." 

"  But  you  haven't  seen  so  much  of  the  Sax- 
bies  as  I  have.  I've  lived  with  them  girl  and 
woman  nigh  upon  twenty  years,  and  though 
the  mistress  is  sharp,  and  master,  too,  for  that 
matter,  sometimes,  it  isn't  in  the  Saxby  nature 
to  bear  grudges;  they  are  honest  and  upright, 
and  would  not  wrong  either  friend  or  foe." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know  all  this,  Deb,  but  still  I 


50  SAXBY. 

cannot  feel  so  sure  about  Master  Roger,  and 
you'll  remember  my  words  one  day,  perhaps." 

But  Deb  shook  her  head  incredulously  as 
she  turned  to  the  preparation  of  supper.  "  I 
know  the  Saxbies,"  she  said  in  conclusion. 

Meanwhile  the  conference  in  the  parlor  had 
been  joined  by  Harry,  anxious  to  close  the 
matter  now  that  his  mother  had  been  so  far 
won  over. 

It  was  not  so  difficult  to  persuade  his  father, 
especially  since  the  talk  that  he  had  had  with 
John  Hampdenhad  convinced  him  that  England 
ought  to  assist  the  struggling  cause  of  Prot- 
estantism on  the  Continent ;  and  so,  before 
supper  was  served,  the  matter  was  so  far  set- 
tled that  Harry  and  his  father  were  to  journey 
to  London  the  next  day  to  make  some  further 
inquiries  among  old  friends,  and  make  the 
needful  preparations  if  the  result  of  their  in- 
quiries proved  satisfactory. 

Roger  and  Lawrence  were  greatly  surprised 
when  they  heard  that  their  oldest  brother  was 
about  to  leave  home,  and  more  so  when  they 
knew  where  he  was  going ;  but  the  discipline 
of  those  days  prevented  them  from  expressing 
more  than  ordinary  astonishment  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  parents. 

When  supper  was  over,  however,  and  they 


Harry  Saxby.  51 

were  at  liberty  to  wander  about  for  an  hour 
by  themselves,  or  join  in  any  boyish  game 
that  might  please  them,  Roger  drew  his 
brother  aside  to  where  they  were  out  of  hear- 
ing, and  then  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  of  pas- 
sionate jealousy. 

"Isn't  it  a  shame!"  he  exclaimed.  "He 
cares  no  more  for  the  land  than  that  cow,  and 
yet  he  is  to  go  off  to  foreign  parts  beyond  the 
sea  for  as  long  as  he  pleases,  while  we  work  at 
home  to  keep  his  property  in  order." 

"  But  it  isn't  his  yet,  Roger,"  said  the 
younger  brother ;  "  my  father  may,  and  will,  I 
hope,  live  a  good  many  years  yet,  and  the 
land  wont  be  Harry's  until — I  say,  what  bird  is 
that  just  over  the  orchard  ?  " 

"  O,  bother  the  birds !  I  know  this  land 
wont  come  to  Harry  while  my  father  lives, 
but  then,  who  can  tell  how  long  that,  may 
be,  and  then  what  is  to  become  of  us  ?  I 
wont  stop  here  and  work  with  Harry  for  my 
master." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  he'd  want  you,"  said 
Larry.  "  I  know  what  I  mean  to  do  by  and 
by.  I  shall  go  to  London  and  learn  to  be  a 
lawyer,  like  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  you  shall 
come  with  me.  We  shall  always  stick  to- 
gether, you  know,"  he  added  warmly. 


52  SAXBY. 

'•  No  fear  of  that,  Larry ;  but  I  can't  be  a 
lawyer.  I  hate  the  sight  of  books.  Give  me 
land  before  any  thing  else,  and  this  is  the  land 
I  want,  and  will  have,  if  I  can  get  it,"  he  con- 
cluded in  a  determined  tone. 

"  I  do  believe  you  care  for  it  more  than 
Harry  does,  and  it  is  a  shame  you  can't  have 
it,  but—" 

"  Care  for  it,"  interrupted  Roger  impetu- 
ously ;  "  he  does  not  care  one  of  the  new  cop- 
per coins  what  becomes  of  the  old  place,  or 
else  he  would  not  go  off  on  this  fool's  errand. 
Going  to  fight  for  truth  and  right  ?  Was  ever 
such  a  thing  heard  of,  and  leave  such  a  patri- 
mony as  this ! " 

"  Well,  you  need  not  be  so  angry  about  his 
going  off  to  the  wars.  You  know  if  he  should 
get  killed  the  land  would  be  yours  then.  If  I 
came  next,  and  it  was  mine,  perhaps  you  would 
want  to  send  me  off  in  my  turn  ;  but  there's 
no  fear  of  that,  is  there  ?  " 

"  No,  Larry,  I  should  never  want  you  out 
of  the  way,"  said  Roger  slowly,  and  laying  his 
hand  on  his  younger  brother's  shoulder,  "  if — 
if  this  should  be — I'm  not  saying  I  wish  it, 
you  know — " 

"  Of  course,  nobody  could  do  that,"  said 
Larry  quickly. 


Harry  Saxby.  53 

"  Of  course  not.  But  if  it  should  happen, 
then  we  would  share  the  land  between  us, 
share  and  share  alike,  you  know." 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  should  want  it,"  said 
Larry,  indifferently  ;  "  at  any  rate,  it  isn't  very 
likely  to  be  yours,"  he  concluded,  and,  grow- 
ing tired  of  the  topic,  he  swung  himself  up 
into  a  wide-spreading  beech-tree  standing  near, 
and  left  his  brother  to  ponder  over  the  ques- 
tion that  had  been  raised  as  to  the  probability 
of  his  elder  brother  never  returning  to  claim 
the  family  inheritance. 


54  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BAD   NEWS. 

HARRY  SAXBY  went  to  the  wars  with 
many  another  brave  young  Englishman. 
Altogether  an  army  of  about  four  thousand 
was  raised,  but  the  king  still  withheld  his 
support,  and  was  particularly  friendly  with 
Spain,  who,  with  the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
was  the  bitter  enemy  of  the  struggling  Prot- 
estants. 

Master  Saxby  returned  from  his  visit  to 
London  in  no  very  amiable  mood,  for,  like  the 
rest  of  his  countrymen,  he  was  dissatisfied  and 
disappointed  that  the  king  should  openly  fa- 
vor the  Roman  Catholic  powers  of  Europe  in- 
stead of  helping  the  struggling  Protestant 
cause;  but,  dissatisfied  as  he  might  feel,  he 
had  received  so  many  warnings  and  seen  so 
many  examples  of  the  cruelty  of  the  Star- 
chamber,  that  he  dare  not  vent  his  feelings  in 
words,  or  say  what  he  thought  of  the  king  and 
his  favorite,  Sir  George  Villiers. 

Safely  shut  in  his  own  wainscoted  parlor, 
however,  with  only  his  wife  to  listen,  he  could 


Bad  News.  55 

indulge  in  a  little  grumbling  without  fear  of 
arrest.  He  was  securely  seated  before  he  be- 
gan :  "  I  know  not  what  is  coming  to  this  En- 
gland of  ours  when  a  man  cannot  open  his 
mouth  to  say  what  he  thinks  for  fear  of  being 
haled  to  the  Fleet  or  the  Gate-house.  Things 
are  getting  worse  and  worse,  dame,  and  some 
say  the  king  meant  to  bring  back  papistry, 
with  himself  for  the  pope." 

"  What  nonsense  are  you  talking !  the  king 
is  a  Protestant,  or  he  would  never  have  had 
the  Bible  set  forth  in  the  manner  he  has,"  said 
Dame  Saxby  quickly. 

"Ah,  dame,  if  you  had  been  to  London  and 
heard  of  the  doings  at  court  you  would  not 
set  so  great  store  by  the  king's  share  in  that 
business.  It  is  well  known,  too,  that  a  mar- 
riage is  to  take  place  between  Prince  Charles 
and  the  King  of  Spain's  daughter.  The  king 
is  all  cock-a-hoop  over  it." 

"  Well,  and  why  shouldn't  he  look  out  for  a 
good  wife  for  the  prince?  I'm  sure  I  wish 
there  had  been  some  maiden  here  we  -could 
have  asked  to  be  wife  to  Harry,  and  then  he 
wouldn't  have  gone  off  to  the  wars  ;"  and 
Dame  Saxby  heaved  a  deep  sigh  as  she 
spoke. 

"  Harry  will  choose  a  wife  for  himself,  I 


56  SAXBY. 

doubt  not,  in  good  time.  But  about  this 
Spanish  marriage  people  are  nodding  and 
whispering  together,  though  few  dare  to  speak 
out  what  they  think." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  about  it  ?  "  said 
his  wife. 

"  That  England's  honor  is  sold  to  please  the 
Spaniards.  This  is  the  bribe  held  out  to  keep 
the  king  from  helping  his  son-in-law  and  the 
Protestants  of  Germany.  People  are  mutter- 
ing and  grumbling  in  such  a  way  that  the  king 
must  hear  of  it  soon  in  spite  of  the  terror  of 
the  Star-chamber  and  Sir  George  Villiers,  who 
favors  this  Spanish  match." 

"  People  had  better  mind  their  own  busi- 
ness," said  the  dame  sharply. 

"  It  is  the  people's  business,  dame  ;  for  if 
Prince  Charles  marries  a  Catholic  we  shall 
have  a  Papist  for  a  queen  by  and  by,  and  all 
the  laws  that  have  been  passed  to  keep  them 
from  having  any  power  here  again  will  be  set 
aside,  and  the  whole  kingdom  be  gradually 
brought  back  to  the  power  of  the  pope." 

"  Well,  now,  you  have  not  told  me  all  about 
Harry.  I  have  been  thinking  more  about  him 
than  any  thing  else  lately,"  said  Dame  Saxby 
with  a  sigh. 

"  Of  course,  and  the  lad  was  often  thinking 


Bad  News.  57 

of  j^u.  'Tell  my  mother  this,'  and  '  I  forgot 
to  tell  mother  that,'  I  heard  half  a  dozen 
times  a  day,  and,  I  dare  say,  I  shall  think  of 
all  these  messages  by  degrees,  but  the  din  and 
the  bustle  of  London  and  the  wonderful  things 
so  constantly  to  be  seen  there  have  put  every 
thing  else  out  of  my  head." 

"  Every  thing  but  the  court  gossip,"  said 
Dame  Saxby  in  a  complaining  tone. 

'  Nay,  nay,  but  people  cannot  help  talking 
about  the  wanton  doings  of  the  court  when  it 
touches  them  so  nearly.  It  is  but  lately  that 
another  duty  has  been  laid  upon  currants." 

"  Ano.her  duty  !  "  exclaimed  the  dame. 

"  Aye.,  five  shillings  on  the  hundred  weight 
more,  and  no  abatement  of  the  last.  The 
housewives  of  London  are  grumbling  as  well 
as  the  merchants,  but  how  it  can  be  altered  is 
a  puzzle  to  the  wisest  among  them." 

"  But  surely  the  king  could  alter  it !  ex- 
claimed Dame  Saxby  angrily. 

"The  king!  what  can  he  do?  He  is  more 
pressed  for  money  than  we  are.  Knighthood 
and  every  honor  and  every  office  is  bought. 
Often  those  who  have  paid  a  good  round  sum 
for  an  office  under  the  Crown  cannot  get  their 
salaries,  and  can  only  support  themselves  by 
bribes  and  stealings.  It  is  whispered  that  the 


$8  SAXBY. 

Lord  Bacon,  one  of  the  noblest  and  most 
learned  philosophers  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
is  not  above  taking  a  bribe,  although  he  will 
not  suffer  it  to  divert  the  course  of  justice. 
Then  there  are  the  king's  favorites  to  be  pro- 
vided for — the  Buckinghams  and  Somersets  ; 
and  so,  although  they  are  never  seen  in  it 
Openly,  they  have  much  of  the  profit  from  dif- 
ferent monopolies.  I  tried  to  get  some  silver 
lace  to  broider  your  petticoat,  but,  owing  to 
this  same  monopoly  by  which  Buckingham 
and  his  brother  are  greatly  enriched,  the  price 
is  three  times  what  it  was  when  I  last  went  to 
London ;  and,  what  is  worse,  the  thread  is  of 
brass  instead  of  silver." 

"  But  you  could  have  gone  to  some  other 
merchant,"  said  Dame  Saxby  rather  tartly ; 
for  this  was  the  secret  cause  of  her  ill-humor. 
Never  before  had  her  good  man  gone  on  a 
journey  to  London  without  bringing  her  a 
supply  of  silver  lace  for  trimming  her  petti- 
coat and  bodice. 

"  True,  I  might  have  gone  to  another  mer- 
chant ;  but  how  much  should  I  be  the  better 
for  that,  seeing  they  must  all  buy  of  the  same 
maker,  and  this  maker  sells  but  brass  instead 
of  silver?" 

"  Dear  heart,  what  is  the  world  coming  to 


Bad  News.  59 

when  honest  folks  cannot  buy  a  bit  of  silver 
lace !  "  said  Dame  Saxby.  This  touched  her 
more  nearly  even  than  the  increased  duty  on 
currants,  for  she  took  no  small  pride  in  the 
trimming  of  her  petticoats  and  bodices,  as 
well  as  her  husband's  best  cloak  and  doublet. 
It  was  Dame  Saxby's  one  weak  point,  and  to 
be  deprived  of  her  accustomed  present  of 
finery  from  London  caused  her  almost  as  much 
vexation  as  the  departure  of  her  eldest  son. 
"  And  where  shall  I  get  the  lace,  since  it  can- 
not be  bought  in  London?"  said  the  dame, 
thinking  sadly  of  her  frayed,  tarnished  trim- 
mings, and  how  much  they  needed  replacing. 

"  Silver  lace  is  not  to  be  had,  dame,  and 
the  rubbish  they  sell  now  injures  the  fingers 
of  those  who  make  it ;  therefore  I  hold  that 
none  should  wear  it." 

"  But  what  am  I  to  do  ? "  she  demanded 
sharply.  "  My  cloth  petticoat  is  now  in  such 
ill  condition  that — " 

"  There  is  plenty  of  cioth  to  be  had,  dame ; 
make  a  new  one  of  fine  broad-cloth  an  ye 
will." 

"  But  no  trimmings?  It  will  be  little  better 
than  Deb's  or  Sally's,  fine  as  it  may  be.  I 
•wonder  what  Dame  Hampden  will  say  to  this? 
What  other  duties  are  there  besides  ?  " 


60  SAXBY. 

"  Six  and  eightpence  has  been  levied  on 
every  pound  of  tobacco,  over  and  above  the 
other  duty;  and  this  by  proclamation  only, 
without  warrant  of  Parliament,  which  is  mak- 
ing men  wag  their  tongues  in  spite  of  the  Star- 
chamber  and  the  King's  Bench." 

"  Well,  if  things  are  to  be  like  this,  it  needs 
somebody  to  speak  up  and  tell  the  king  what 
injustice  is  done.  They  would  not  dare  to 
trim  his  doublets  with  this  rubbish  they  call 
silver  lace,  and,  doubtless,  he  knows  nothing 
of  how  his  loyal  subjects  are  made  to  suffer  in 
this  matter.  I  will  go  and  see  young  Dame 
Hampden  to-morrow,"  concluded  the  angry 
lady  as  she  left  the  room  to  look  after  her 
maids. 

The  visit  to  Dame  Hampden  was  not  product- 
ive of  much  comfort  to  Dame  Saxby.  That 
lady  had  heard  of  the  new  monopoly  upon  the 
manufacture  of  gold  and  silver  thread,  and  she 
and  her  husband  had  been  talking  the  matter 
over  in  all  its  bearings,  and  they  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  not  to  wear  any  of  this  new 
silver  lace,  both  on  account  of  its  inferior 
quality  and  the  injury  it  inflicted  upon  those 
engaged  in  its  manufacture,  and  also  because 
of  the  illegal  way  in  which  the  duty  upon  it 
was  imposed. 


Bad  News.  61 

"  Dear  heart!  and  your  mother  and  I,  when 
we  were  girls  together,  never  thought  of  how 
much  silver  lace  we  spoiled.  Well,  I  must  try 
cleaning  and  mending  once  more  ;  but  'tis 
very  hard,  and  I  hope  this  monopoly  will  soon 
be  put  down.  Master  Hampden  must  see  to 
this  matter,  if  he  is  to  go  to  Parliament — and 
you  think  he  will?" 

"  Yes,  dear  dame,  we  often  talk  of  it.  He 
is  sure  it  is  his  duty,  and  I  feel  the  same  about 
it.  You  must  come  and  see  me  very  often 
when  he  goes  to  London,  unless  I  should  go 
with  him.  My  mother  is  very  glad  to  know 
we  are  such  near  neighbors  and  such  good 
friends,"  said  the  young  matron. 

"  Yes,  yes,  to  be  sure ;  but  have  you  been 
about  the  village  here  —  about  Hampden? 
Are  there  any  old  women  here?"  for  Dame 
Saxby  was  thinking  of  the  witchcraft  that 
must  have  been  practiced  upon  her  young 
friend  to  make  her  willing  to  forego  her  hus- 
band's society  so  soon  after  their  marriage. 

Young  Dame  Hampden  looked  at  her  friend, 
wondering  what  she  could  be  thinking  of. 
"  Old  women  !  "  she  repeated.  "  There  are 
about  a  dozen  who  come  to  the  buttery  for 
their  daily  dole  of  bread  and  meat  and 
ale." 


62  SAX  BY. 

"And — and  have  you  ever  offended  any  of 
these,  Bessie?"  asked  her  friend  anxiously. 

"  What  can  you  mean,  good  dame  ? "  said 
the  lady,  now  growing  vaguely  apprehensive  ; 
"  what  is  it  you  fear?  " 

"  Witchcraft ! "  whispered  Dame  Saxby. 

The  lady  started  and  turned  pale  at  the 
dreadful  word.  "  What  has  happened  ?  What 
have  you  heard  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Nothing,  my  dear,  but  what  you  have  told 
me.  But  I  fear  you  have  offended  some  of 
these  old  women,  and  they  are  determined  to 
work  you  some  great  trouble." 

"  But  what  could  they  do,  poor  helpless  old 
creatures?  They  are  entirely  dependent  upon 
my  husband's  bounty,  and  why  should  they 
seek  to  hurt  him  ?  How  could  they  do  it  ?  " 

"  By  sending  him  to  Parliament.  I  would 
not  go  within  a  dozen  miles  of  that  Parliament 
house  an  I  were  Master  Hampden ;  for  my 
good  man  tells  me  things  be  grown  to  such  a 
pitch  in  London  now  that  a  man  dare  not 
open  his  mouth  to  complain  of  the  greatest 
injustice  for  fear  of  being  haled  before  the 
Star  Chamber.  He  saw  one  man  taken  for 
no  greater  offense  than  saying  his  father  had 
been  ruined  through  the  unjust  judgment  of 
the  council ;  and  when  h(  :ried  to  escape,  the 


Bad  News.  63 

tipstaffs  with  their  long  hooked  poles  caught 
him  and  dragged  him  along  like  a  beast  to  the 
shambles.  He  saw  another  who,  to  hide  the 
cruelty  practiced  upon  him,  must,  forsooth,  al- 
ways wear  a  mask,  for  his  nose  had  been  laid 
open  and  but  ill  joined  together,  and  his  cheeks 
branded,  and  this  for  some  religious  tract  he 
had  written  about  the  right  of  every  man  to 
liberty  of  conscience.  Now,  if  Mr.  Hampden 
should  ever  take  up  these  notions,  and  speak 
of  them,  think  what  would  happen  !  " 

"Well,  dear  dame,  I  have  thought  of  it,  and 
the  danger  he  will  incur ;  but  it  is  these  very 
things  that  make  it  an  Englishman's  duty 
to  try  and  get  the  laws  enforced  or  amended, 
and  even  remind  the  king  that  he  is  called  to 
govern  the  people  for  their  good,  not  oppress 
them  for  his  own  benefit  and  the  enrichment 
of  his  favorites." 

"Ah,  if  some  one  could  only  tell  the  king 
just  how  things  are  going  on !  But  a  little 
while  ago  it  was  my  Lord  of  Somerset  who 
kept  every  one  from  the  king,  and  now  it  is 
said  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  is  doing  the 
same  thing;  and  so  I  fear  me  it  will  only  bring 
trouble  to  both  of  ye,  an  Master  Hampden 
goes  to  Parliament,"  said  Dame  Saxby  with 
a  sigh. 


64  SAXBY. 

"And  you  think  it  is  witchcraft  that  has 
made  him  wish  to  go  to  Parliament?"  said 
young  Dame  Hampden,  feeling  much  relieved 
now  that  she  knew  the  extent  of  her  friend's 
fears  for  them. 

"  What  can  it  be  but  witchcraft  ?  These 
troubles  can  never  touch  you,  Bessie." 

"  We  cannot  tell  that,  and  even  if  it  were 
not  wrong  to  think  only  of  those  things  that 
touch  ourselves  we  ought  to  see  to  these  things 
being  amended,  for  my  goodman  holds  that  if 
such  things  were  not  done  in  matters  of  this 
life,  religion  would  not  be  so  straitly  directed 
and  oppressed  by  the  bishops  as  it  now  is. 
We  have  just  heard  ill  news  from  our  parson, 
which  is  the  sorer  trouble  to  Master  Hampden, 
seeing  he  can  do  little  to  help  the  poor  man." 

"Why,  what  has  happened  now?  another 
citation  from  the  bishop?"  asked  Dame  Saxby. 

"  Yes,  it  is  even  so.  Some  meddling  body 
must  have  carried  the  news  that  the  king's 
'  Book  of  Sports '  has  not  been  read  in  the 
church  lately,  but  a  godly  and  helpful  sermon 
preached,  wherein  the  duty  of  setting  apart 
one  day  for  God's  service  is  enforced.  Now, 
just  as  the  winter  is  beginning,  poor  Master 
Drayton  is  summoned  to  appear  in  London, 
and  we  fear  will  be  cast  into  prison  there  for 


Bad  News.  65 

his  faithfulness ;  for  he  will  not  deny  the  charge 
brought  against  him,  or  promise  to  incite  the 
people  to  foolish  and  often  harmful  mirth  on 
the  Lord's  day." 

"  Dear  heart !  what  is  coming  to  our  poor 
country?  What  will  Master  Drayton  do?" 

"  What  can  he  do  but  obey  the  bishop's 
call,  and  defend  himself  from  the  word  of 
God?" 

"  I  would  not  an  I  were  he ;  I  would  not 
trust  myself  in  the  hands  of  any  bishop,  but 
would  fly  to  the  Low  Countries,  and  join  this 
expedition  that  is  going  to  America.  Master 
Cushman  has  great  hopes  that  they  may  go 
next  summer,  for  many  helped  him  in  raising 
the  money  needful." 

"  Master  Hampden  did  suggest  something 
of  this,  but  our  parson  pleaded  that  he  was 
getting  to  be  an  old  man,  and  ill-fitted  to  en- 
counter the  dangers  and  hardships  that  will 
meet  those  who  go  out  to  form  this  new  col- 
ony, and  he  fears  to  be  a  burden  upon  those 
who  will  have  erfbugh  ado  to  shift  for  them- 
selves." 

"  Well,  well,  there  is  something  in  that. 
But  can  Master  Hampden  do  nothing  for  this 
godly  minister?  The  bishop  will,  without 
doubt,  dispossess  him  of  this  living;  and  I 


66  SAXBY. 

know  somewhat  of  this  good  man  myself — 
enough  to  make  me  anxious,  Bessie." 

"Yes,  yes,  we  have  seen  you  and  Mastei 
Saxby  at  church  more  than  once,  good  dame, 
and  could  not  wonder  that  you  left  your  own 
parish  church,  where,  I  hear,  there  have  been 
many  things  to  be  seen  in  bowings  and  wear- 
ing fine  cassocks,  but  little  to  be  heard  be- 
yond the  reading  of  the  lessons  and  the  king's 
'  Book  of  Sports.' " 

"Ah,  you  have  seen  us  here  at  Hampden, 
Bessie ;  we  hoped  no  one  had  noticed  our 
coming." 

"  We  fear  others  have  seen  you  as  well  as 
ourselves,"  said  young  Dame  Hampden,  "  and 
my  goodman  was  burning  to  give  you  a  word 
of  warning." 

"What  mean  you,  my  sweet  Bess?"  ex- 
claimed Dame  Saxby,  now  growing  alarmed  for 
her  own  safety;  for  in  those  days  heavy  pun- 
ishment often  fell  upon  those  who  wandered 
from  their  own  parish  church  to  another. 

"  Well,  a  notice  has  been  sent  from  the 
bishop  warning  all  persons  against  the  practice 
of  absenting  themselves  from  their  own  parish 
church;  and  so,  as  the  eyes  of  those  in  author- 
ity are  evidently  turned  toward  our  doings  just 
now,  it  is  best  to  be  circumspect." 


Bad  News.  67 

"  Yes,  yes ;  I  will  take  care  not  to  offend  in 
this  way  again,  although  it  is  hard  to  listen 
to  the  mouthings  and  mumblings  which  are  all 
we  get  in  our  parish.  Roger  often  laughs  at 
our  parson's  ignorance  and  assumption  of  au- 
thority, and  I  often  fear  he  is  growing  out  of 
conceit  of  all  religion  through  this  very  thing ; 
but  what  can  I  do  to  mend  matters?"  and 
Dame  Saxby  sighed  as  she  drew  on  her  hood 
and  prepared  to  take  her  departure.  Her 
trouble  about  the  silver  lace  was  forgotten 
now  in  this  fresh  anxiety,  and  she  hastened 
home  to  tell  her  husband  all  she  had  heard 

from  young  Dame  Hampden. 
5 


68  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WAS  IT  WITCHCRAFT? 

MASTER  SAXBY  did  not  appear  to  be 
much  surprised  at  what  his  wife  told 
him  concerning  the  citation  of  Master  Drayton. 

"  I've  been  expecting  it,"  he  said  calmly. 

"  Expecting  it !  and  yet  you  went  to  hear 
him  preach  in  another  parish  church !" 

"Yes,  and  I  shall  go  again  an  he  preaches 
again,  for  what  right  has  the  king  or  bishop 
to  command  what  I  shall  hear  or  believe?  It 
is  enough,  I  trow,  that  I  cannot  say  what  I 
think  of  the  ill  doings  and  injustice  of  the 
court  and  king  without  being  robbed  of  my 
liberty  to  serve  God  according  to  my  own 
conscience." 

Dame  Saxby  looked  at  her  husband,  scarce- 
ly knowing  what  to  think,  for  the  calm  deter- 
mination of  his  tone  astonished  her ;  but  still 
she  said,  "  Nay,  but  we  must  be  cautious,  and 
go  to  our  own  church  again." 

"  To  listen  to  the  reading  of  the  '  Book  of 
Sports,'  and  see  the  popish  mummings  of  our 
parson?  A  nice  tale  has  come  to  my  ears 


Was  it  Witchcraft  ?  69 

concerning  the  doings  of  our  Roger  last  Sun- 
day; and  when  I  spoke  to  him  about  it  he 
said  he  was  but  obeying  the  king's  command, 
and  following  the  teaching  of  the  parson  and 
the  king's  '  Book  of  Sports ; '  and  the  lad  was 
right." 

"  Nay,  nay,  but  the  '  Book  of  Sports '  doth 
not  enjoin  drunkenness  and  brawling,"  said 
the  dame  quickly. 

"  Nay,  but  it  sends  the  witless  knaves  into 
the  midst  of  temptation,  encouraging  them  in 
the  drinking  of  ale  more  than  is  needful,  and 
wrestling,  and  fencing,  and  dancing — all  which 
often  lead  to  brawling  and  worse.  Had  you 
heard  of  these  ill  doings,  Moll  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  heard  the  wenches  whispering  among 
themselves,  and  I  made  Deb  tell  me ;  and 
then,  by  way  of  excusing  the  lad,  she  said,  '  It 
was  all  because  Harry  had  gone  away.'  " 

"  'Tis  but  a  sorry  way  of  showing  his  love 
for  his  brother.  So  Deb  and  the  wenches  were 
at  the  reveling?"  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  Well,  Deb  said  people  began  to  whisper 
we  were  all  Puritans  and  Precisians,  and  so  I 
thought  it  better  to  let  them  go  than  bring 
that  reproach  upon  ourselves." 

"  Puritans  and  Precisians,  forsooth !  My 
neighbors  shall  have  liberty  to  call  me  that  an 


70  SAXBY. 

they  will,  but  I  shall  claim  the  liberty  of  or- 
dering my  family  after  a  decent  fashion,  and 
not  be  bound  a  bond-slave  to  the  king's  '  Book 
of  Sports.' " 

"  But — but  you  forget  we  have  been  to  an- 
other parish  church  very  often  of  late ;  twice 
on  the  Sunday,  too,"  said  Dame  Saxby  timid- 
ly. "  It  is  against  the  law,  I  hear,  that  Master 
Drayton  has  preached  on  Sunday  afternoons." 

"  Yes,  yes,  against  the  law,  to  be  sure  it  is," 
said  her  husband  impatiently;  "but  would 
you  think  about  the  law  an  a  child  were  starv- 
ing at  your  gates,  and  ye  had  bread  to  give 
him?" 

"  Nay,  nay ;  no  one  can  say  I  ever  turned  a 
beggar  hungry  from  my  gate,"  said  Dame  Sax- 
by;  "I  am  free  from  that  reproach." 

"And  Master  Drayton  would  fain  be  the 
same — the  only  difference  is,  you  have  care  for 
men's  bodies  and  he  for  their  souls,  which  are 
starving  for  lack  of  food." 

"  But  what  has  that  to  do  with  preaching 
on  Sunday  afternoons  ?  " 

"  Every  thing,  dame.  Men  were  hungering 
for  the  bread  of  life,  or  they  would  not  walk 
miles  from  other  parishes  to  get  it ;  and,  see- 
ing this,  good  Master  Drayton  provided  them 
two  meals  instead  of  one.  I  wonder  who  the 


Was  it  Witchcraft?  71 

meddling  body  can  be  that  has  gone  to  the 
bishop  with  this  tale  about  him." 

It  seemed  that  there  must  be  some  busy- 
bodies  and  mischief-makers  among  their  own 
neighbors ;  for  a  little  later,  Deb,  the  cook, 
told  her  mistress  that  the  blacksmith's  wife  had 
been  talking  to  her  about  the  strangers  who 
had  come  to  visit  them  a  week  or  two  before, 
and  who  had  decoyed  Master  Harry  to  foreign 
parts,  and  how  the  village  were  all  saying  the 
Saxbies  had  turned  Puritans,  and  forsaken  their 
own  parish  church  and  the  Sunday  revels  on 
the  green. 

"  Nay,  but,  Deb,  we  never  joined  in  these 
revels,  or  suffered  the  boys  or  serving-men  to 
do  so,  until  Roger  took  to  going  this  summer." 

"And  little  enough  I  care  for  the  revels, 
where  the  boldest-faced  minx  is  set  above  de- 
cent serving-wenches ;  but  when  they  say  you 
and  my  master  are  Puritans,  and  will  not  suffer 
us  to  join  in  their  revels,  it  was  time,  I  thought, 
to  let  them  see  we  were  no  Puritans,  although 
we  did  not  go  to  their  church  ales  and  cakes." 

Dame  Saxby  hardly  knew  what  to  say  to 
this.  Personally,  she  felt  glad  that  Deb  had 
adopted  such  an  effectual  means  of  warding 
off  the  charge  of  Puritanism  being  brought 
against  them,  and  especially  since  it  had  be- 


72  SAXBY. 

come  known  that  they  had  been  going  of  late 
to  another  parish  church;  but  whether  her 
husband  would  allow  a  continued  attendance 
at  these  festivities  she  did  not  know,  but  she 
was  resolved  to  do  what  she  could  to  persuade 
him  to  let  Deb  and  the  rest  of  the  serving- 
maids  and  men  do  as  they  liked  in  the  matter. 
They  could  shelter  themselves  under  the  plea 
of  being  too  old  to  join  in  such  frolics,  and 
Roger  and  Larry  must  be  warned  to  be  more 
circumspect  in  futuie. 

But  Master  Saxby  was  by  no  means  inclined 
to  yield  to  his  wife  in  this.  The  thing  was 
wrong,  he  said.  He  was  convinced  that  to 
attend  divine  service  in  the  morning  and 
spend  the  rest  of  the  day  in  the  ale-house,  or 
dancing  and  wrestling  on  the  green,  was  little 
better  than  a  mockery,  and  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  On  his  wife  venturing 
to  say  that  they  would  be  accused  of  being 
Puritans,  he  told  her  boldly  that  he  had  long 
been  a  Puritan,  and  was  no  longer  ashamed 
of  the  name.  Poor  Dame  Saxby  was  horror- 
stricken  to  hear  her  husband  speak  out  so 
boldly,  for  she  knew  he  would  be  likely  to 
avow  it  just  as  openly  among  the  neighbors  as 
to  herself,  and  she  foresaw  what  trouble  and 
loss  this  would  bring  upon  them.  They  might 


Was  it  Witchcraft  f  73 

even  have  to  give  up  their  rich  farm  lands — 
be  forced  to  sell  them  at  a  ruinous  loss  and 
emigrate  to  Flanders  or  America — and  she 
shuddered  at  the  thought  of  such  a  calamity 
overtaking  them,  and  the  next  minute  burst 
into  tears. 

"  How  now,  dame,  what  ails  you?"  asked 
her  husband,  in  some  alarm  ;  for  Dame  Saxby 
did  not  often  shed  tears. 

"  Can  you  ask  me,"  she  sobbed,  "  when  you 
talk  of  bringing  us  all  to  ruin  ?  If  you  only 
cared — " 

"  Hush,  hush,  Moll,  and  let  us  talk  this 
matter  over  to  ourselves.  I  ought  to  have 
done  it  before,  but  I've  been  a  coward  even 
with  you  ;  but,  God  helping  me,  I  mean  to  be 
braver  in  future.  I  had  a  talk  with  Harry  be- 
fore he  went  away,  God  bless  the  lad  !  and  he 
helped  me  to  see  things  clearer  as  to  what  was 
my  duty  in  this  matter.  You'll  see  it  too,  I 
trust,  dame,  and  help  me  to  do  it." 

"  No  one  can  ever  say  I  haven't  done  my 
duty,"  replied  Dame  Saxby  quickly. 

"  That's  true,  dame,  quite  true  ;  you've  been 
a  good  wife,  a  good  mother,  and  a  good  mis- 
tress. No  one  can  say  you  haven't  done  your 
duty  to  me  and  the  boys ;  but  I  haven't  done 
mine,  Moll." 


74  SAXBY. 

"  I  should  like  to  hear  any  body  say  that, 
and  I  would  soon  tell  them  what  I  thought 
about  them,"  interrupted  Dame  Saxby. 

"  But  I  say  it  of  myself,  Moll.  I  have  been  a 
coward,  ashamed  to  confess  my  Lord  among 
men.  I  have  not  dared  to  own  it  even  to  you, 
but  I  tell  you  now,  and  I  don't  care  who  hears 
me  say  it,  I  am  as  much  a  Puritan  as  those 
who  went  away  from  here  a  few  years  ago,  and 
I  will  go  no  more  to  the  church  in  this  parish 
to  join  in  their  half-Popish  service.  I  tell  you, 
Moll,  the  king  is  only  half  a  Protestant ;  he 
has  too  strong  a  liking  for  his  Popish  mother's 
religion,  and  means  to  bring  it  back  to  us  if  he 
can — by  degrees  at  first.  Men's  minds  must 
be  Romanized  gradually  through  this  half- 
Popish  service.  By  and  by  a  few  more  cere- 
monies will  be  added.  After  kneeling  to  take 
the  sacrament  the  next  step  will  be  to  adore 
the  bread,  as  in  the  mass,  and  the  table  will 
be  changed  to  an  altar,  and  the  communion 
called  a  sacrifice  again.  I  talked  with  one  or 
two  in  London,  and  this  is  the  fear  of  many ; 
and  the  only  hope  for  England  is  in  these  Pu- 
ritans she  has  been  driving  to  other  shores  and 
other  homes." 

"  Dear  heart !  what  will  happen  next  ?  " 
sighed  poor  Dame  Saxby ;  "  we  shall  be  fined 


Was  it  Witchcraft  ?  75 

twelve  pence  for  every  Sunday  we  do  not  go 
to  church,  and  you  will  be  summoned  before 
the  bishop  and  made  to  promise  that  you  will 
go  to  your  own  parish  parson  ;  so  that  it  will 
be  better  to  go  at  once,  without  any  trouble  or 
setting  our  neighbors  talking  about  us." 

"  Now,  now,  dame,  this  is  not  helping  me," 
said  her  husband  a  little  reproachfully. 

"  You  want  me  to  help  you  ruin  yourself  and 
the  lads.  What  will  Harry  say,  think  you, 
when  he  hears  the  Saxby  land  has  all  been 
sold  ?  It  is  enough  to  make  your  father  turn 
in  his  grave  to  think  of  it." 

"  But  the  Saxby  land  shall  not  be  sold.  It's 
been  in  the  family  for  generations,  and  shall 
not  go  out  of  it  in  my  time." 

"  You  cannot  help  it  if  you  turn  Puritan  ; 
great  grandfather's  curse  will  surely  fall  upon 
you,  and  the  name  of  Saxby  will  cease  to  be 
known." 

Master  Saxby  started  as  his  wife  brought  this 
terrible  curse  to  his  memory.  "  What  shall  I 
do  ?  What  can  I  do  ?  "  he  almost  groaned. 
"  I  cannot  live  this  lie  any  longer.  The  time 
has  come  when  Master  Hampden  and  I  and 
one  or  two  others  must  take  a  decided  course 
one  way  or  the  other.  We  cannot  abandon 
Master  Drayton,  who  has  been  as  an  angel  of 


76  SAXBY. 

God  to  many  of  us  ;  and  to  protect  him  will  at 
once  bring  upon  us  the  notice  of  the  bishop. 
Perhaps  we  may  all  be  summoned  before  the 
Court  of  High  Commission.  There,  you  see, 
dame,  I  have  thought  of  what  may  happen — 
what  will  very  likely  follow  the  course  I  mean 
to  pursue." 

"  And  you  are  yet  so  obstinate,  John  Saxby, 
that  you  will  ruin  your  whole  family  and  bring 
down  upon  your  head  the  curse  that  is  sure  to 
follow  upon  the  loss  of  the  Saxby  land  ? " 
demanded  his  wife  in  mingled  anger  and  as- 
tonishment. 

"God  help  me!  what  am  I  to  do,  dame  ? 
I  never  saw  it  to  be  my  duty  before  as  I  do 
now,  but,  seeing  it  as  I  do,  I  must  do  it.  Yes, 
I  must !  "  he  concluded. 

"  You  will  be  summoned  before  the  king  at 
Westminster,  and  fined  and  imprisoned.  The 
house  and  land  will  be  sold  to  pay  the  fine, 
and  we  shall  be  turned  out  with  the  family 
curse  for  our  portion,  to  beg  our  bread  or 
starve,"  said  Dame  Saxby. 

"  Hush,  hush,  dame;  things  shall  not  come 
to  that  pass.  I  will  go  to-morrow  and  talk 
with  Master  John  Hampden.  He  knows  a 
little  of  the  law,  or  he  can  find  out  from  his 
cousin,  Master  Oliver  Cromwell,  what  I  can  do 


Was  it  Witchcraft  f  77 

to  save  the  land.  He  is  in  London  now, 
studying  under  some  great  lawyer,  so  that  he 
may  be  the  better  landlord,  as  he  has  already 
lost  his  father.  There,  there,  dame,  no  more 
tears.  I  will  take  care  that  Harry  shall  have 
the  land,  if  the  king  and  bishops  have  me  for 
the  rest  of  my  days." 

"  It  will  be  poor  comfort  to  me  to  stay  here 
and  know  you  are  in  prison,"  sobbed  his  wife. 

"  It  will  keep  my  heart  warm,  though,  to 
know  the  old  homestead  is  sheltering  you. 
But  it  is  not  so  bad  as  that  yet,  dame,  and, 
God  helping  us,  it  may  not  come  to  that." 

"  I  believe  you  are  bewitched  as  well  as 
Master  Hampden ;  and  who  can  fight  against 
witch  spells  ?  I  mean  to  go  out  to-morrow 
and  make  inquiries  as  to  whether  any  stranger 
has  been  seen  lurking  about  here  of  late.  It 
was  only  last  week  the  brindled  cow  died, 
and  Roger  says  several  others  seem  ailing. 
What  is  all  that  but  signs  of  witchcraft  being 
abroad  ?  " 

"  O,  but  the  cows  are  better  now,  Moll.  The 
warm  mash  Hodge  gave  them  this  morning 
has  done  them  good.  I  will  go  now  and  see 
that  another  is  got  ready  for  to-night,  and  to- 
morrow morning  I  will  ride  over  to  Hampden." 

Dame  Saxby  turned  away  puzzled,  angry, 


78  SAXBY. 

and  very  anxious.  What  could  she  do  to  avert 
the  evil  that  seemed  likely  to  overwhelm  them 
with  ruin  ?  Her  eldest,  her  darling,  had  been 
taken  away,  she  was  certain,  by  the  baleful 
influence  of  witchcraft,  and  now  her  husband 
seemed  doomed,  while  she  and  her  sons  might 
be  reduced  to  beggary  and  shame.  Her  hus- 
band might  talk  of  God  helping  him  to  do  his 
duty,  but  if  they  had  not  always  done  their 
duty  she  would  like  to  know  who  had  !  They 
had  gone  to  church  regularly,  either  in  their 
own  parish  or  at  Hampden,  paid  all  dues  and 
tithes,  and  helped  the  poor ;  and  what  more 
could  be  expected  of  them  she  did  not  know. 
This  was  the  substance  of  Dame  Saxby's  self- 
communing,  as  she  stood  at  the  window  look- 
ing out  upon  the  stubble  fields  and  the  fast- 
falling  leaves  of  the  great  beech-tree. 

But  idle  self-communing  was  not  long  in- 
dulged by  Dame  Saxby.  She  must  go  and 
look  after  her  maids,  who,  according  to  her 
belief,  were  sure  to  be  idling  if  her  eye  was 
not  upon  them ;  and  if  her  husband  was  bent 
upon  wasting  his  money  in  fines  she  must  try 
and  make  it  up  a  little  by  stricter  economy  in 
the  household.  Her  thoughts  thus  set  going 
upon  her  usual  household  duties,  eagerly  on 
the  lookout  for  points  where  she  might  save  a 


Was  it  Witchcraft?  79 

few  pence  to  help  pay  the  weekly  fines  for  not 
going  to  their  own  parish  church,  she  spied  in 
one  corner  a  heap  of  dark-looking  cloth,  and, 
shaking  it  out,  found  it  was  a  green  baize 
table-cover,  that  Harry  had  had  at  Cam- 
bridge, but  which  had  since  been  used  to 
cover  a  small  table  in  Roger's  room.  It  was 
almost  an  unheard-of  luxury ;  but  Dame  Sax- 
by  thought  to  please  her  son  by  giving  him 
this  memento  of  Harry's  Cambridge  life  when 
he  went  away,  and  therefore  to  see  it  thrown 
here,  as  if  of  no  value,  vexed  her  not  a  little. 
But  as  she  shook  it  out  she  saw  that  it  was 
stained  with  spots  of  oil,  as  though  a  lamp 
had  been  shaken  or  upset  over  it ;  and,  vexed 
beyond  expression  at  such  waste,  she  went 
with  it  at  once  to  Deb,  who,  being  the  oldest 
of  her  "  wenches,"  was  usually  favored  with 
most  of  her  confidences  and  most  of  her  scold- 
ings. As  a  matter  of  course  Deb  was  scolded 
for  the  damaged  table-cover,  and  when  her 
angry  mistress  had  said  all  she  could  think  of 
concerning  the  idleness,  carelessness,  and  ex- 
travagance of  serving-wenches,  Deb  quietly 
told  her  all  she  knew  about  the  matter.  Mis- 
tress and  maid  knew  each  other  thoroughly, 
and  if  there  was  a  quiet  tone  of  calm  disdain 
underlying  the  respectful  words  used  by  the 


8o  SAXBY. 

cook,  Dame  Saxby  took  no  notice  of  it.  She 
had  relieved  her  feelings  by  scolding  Deb,  and 
now  she  was  ready  to  hear  any  thing  that 
could  be  said  in  explanation  of  what  had  hap- 
pened. But  she  was  scarcely  prepared  to  hear 
what  Deb  had  to  tell — that  Roger  had  never 
liked  the  table-cover  being  in  his  room,  and 
had  told  Deb  to  take  it  away  or  he  should 
throw  it  away.  The  oil  had  been  spilt  by  ac- 
cident, she  believed.  Roger  told  her  he  had 
upset  the  lamp  after  he  came  home  from  the 
wake  on  Sunday,  but  she  did  not  know  that 
the  table-cover  had  been  spoiled,  or  that  it 
had  been  brought  down  stairs. 

"  But  it  is  spoiled  ;  I  can  never  use  it  for  a 
table-cover  again.  Such  shameful,  willful  waste. 
What  am  I  to  do  with  it?"  demanded  the  an- 
gry lady,  holding  it  out  again  to  look  at  it. 

"  It  would  make  a  good  warm  pair  of  winter 
stockings  for  Roger,"  said  Deb. 

"  So  it  would.  I  never  thought  of  that, 
Deb.  The  master  has  brought  some  cloth 
from  London,  and  I  thought  to  cut  a  pair  of 
stockings  from  that,  but  Roger's  shall  be  cut 
from  this  instead.  It  would  serve  him  right 
to  cut  them  with  the  grease  spots  in  ;  but  \ve 
need  not  do  that.  Still,  Master  Roger  shall 
remember  despising  his  brother's  things." 


In  London.  8 1 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN   LONDON. 

THE  result  of  Master  Saxby's  conference 
with  his  neighbor,  Master  John  Hamp- 
den,  made  him  decide  to  pay  another  visit  to 
London  ;  but  his  object  in  going  there  he  kept 
a  secret  even  from  his  wife  at  present,  to  her 
great  annoyance  and  indignation. 

Dame  Saxby,  however,  had  a  secret  of  her 
own,  which  she  was  very  anxious  her  husband 
should  not  discover  just  yet  at  least.  By  and 
by  she  might  want  his  assistance  to  bring  the 
witch-wife  to  justice ;  but  at  present  she  had 
little  more  than  her  own  prejudice  and  a  little 
village  gossip  to  convict  the  poor  old  woman, 
who,  up  to  the  present  time,  had  always  borne 
a  good  character  among  her  neighbors.  But 
there  certainly  had  been  some  mysterious  pro- 
ceedings of  late.  A  tall  stranger,  shrouded  in 
a  long  cloak,  and  wearing  a  slouched  hat,  had 
been  seen  to  leave  her  cottage  after  night-fall 
more  than  once  lately.  The  blacksmith's  wife 
declared  she  had  seen  the  shape  of  a  tail  under 
the  cloak,  and  another  thought  there  was  a 


82  SAXBY. 

faint  smell  of  sulphur  in  the  lane  after  he  had 
passed  ;  but,  worse  than  all  these  surmises, 
there  remained  the  actual  fact  that  there  was 
a  great  deal  of  sickness  among  the  cattle  just 
now,  which,  according  to  the  belief  of  those 
times,  could  only  be  accounted  for  by  witch- 
craft. So  Dame  Saxby's  vague  hints  that  she 
knew  there  was  a  witch  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood  found  only  too  ready  credence 
among  the  gossips  of  the  place,  and  there  were 
plenty  ready  to  watch  old  Gammer  Grove,  and 
bring  the  mistress  news  of  all  they  might  dis- 
cover. 

Dame  Saxby  went  home  well  satisfied  with 
the  result  of  her  inquiries,  and  only  anxious 
lest  her  husband  should  spoil  the  whole  plot 
by  some  premature  step  which  would  warn  the 
old  woman  that  she  was  watched.  She  took 
care  to  be  home  before  her  husband  could  be 
back  from  Hampden,  lest  he  should  inquire 
where  she  had  been.  But  she  need  not  have 
hurried  herself.  Master  Saxby  did  not  get 
back  until  supper-time,  and  then  he  was  so 
grave  and  preoccupied  that  he  did  not  notice 
even  the  absence  of  Roger,  who  had  gone  out 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  had  not  yet  re- 
turned. 

When  Larry  heard  that  his  father  was  going 


In  London.  83 

to  London  he  begged  that  he  might  go  with 
him,  but  Master  Saxby  declared  he  must  go 
alone ;  his  errand  was  important,  and  he 
should  have  no  time  to  take  him  to  see  the 
sights  and  amusements  of  the  place.  So  the 
long-talked-of  visit  must  be  deferred  until  the 
spring. 

When  Dame  Saxby  found  that  this  import- 
ant errand  was  to  be  kept  a  secret  even  from 
her  she  grumbled  a  little  ;  but  then  told  her 
husband  he  need  not  be  at  so  much  pains  to 
keep  this  a  secret  when  all  the  village  would 
know  within  a  week  that  he  had  gone  on  busi- 
ness concerning  Master  Drayton's  appearing 
before  the  bishop. 

Her  husband  did  not  contradict  this  asser- 
tion, and  Dame  Saxby  went  on :  "I  suppose 
you  and  John  Hampden  have  decided  to 
stand  by  Master  Drayton  and  defy  the  bishop, 
and  the  king  himself  if  need  be." 

"Well,  we  had  a  long  talk  about  the  good 
man,  and  we  both  hold  that  it  is  our  duty  to 
help  him.  Master  Hampden  says  if  he  had 
children  to  instruct  he  would  take  him  into 
his  house  as  chaplain,  but,  that  not  being  so, 
he  is  willing  to  devote  a  certain'sum  to  his 
maintenance  as  a  lecturer ;  by  which  means 
Hampden  will  profit  by  his  godly  teaching 


84  SAXBY. 

still,  and  he  hopes  that  some  others  in  the 
neighboring  villages  will  also  contribute  some- 
thing as  well." 

"  Of  course  you  promised  to  do  so,  in  spite 
of  the  risk  and  the  fines  you  will  have  to  pay," 
said  Dame  Saxby  crossly. 

"  I  could  not  do  less,  Moll,  seeing  what  a 
debt  I  owe  to  Master  Drayton." 

"  Well,  I  hope  doing  this  will  satisfy  you, 
then,  and  that  you  will  go  to  your  own  church 
without  any  more  trouble  coming  upon  us." 

Master  Saxby  shook  his  head ;  but  his  wife, 
thinking  she  had  found  the  clew  of  this  obsti- 
nacy, and  would  soon  be  able  to  deprive  the 
witch  of  her  power  over  him,  let  the  matter 
drop,  convinced  that  things  would  soon  work 
round  into  their  usual  state  again  when  Gam- 
mer Grove  was  got  rid  of. 

Master  Saxby  set  out  on  his  journey  alone, 
but  was  glad  to  join  a  party  of  travelers  for 
safety's  sake  before  they  reached  London  ;  for 
the  neighborhood  of  Hounslow  and  Hamp- 
stead  was  infested  with  robbers,  and  it  was  only 
by  traveling  in  large  parties,  and  all  well  armed, 
that  the  traveler  could  hope  to  reach  his  des- 
tination in  safety. 

By  the  time  the  city  was  reached  his  horse 
was  well-nigh  worn  out  with  his  two  days' 


In  London.  85 

journey  and  the  speed  to  which  he  had  been 
urged  the  last  few  miles.  Never  had  the  low- 
ine  of  his  own  cattle  been  more  welcome  to  Mas- 

o 

ter  Saxby's  ears  than  the  cries  of  the  city  ap- 
prentices as  they  plied  their  masters'  trade. 

"  What  do  you  lack  ?  What  do  you  lack  ? 
Buy  a  watch  or  a  horologe  ? "  cried  one. 
"  What  do  you  lack  ?  A  silken  girdle  or  a 
velvet  cloak,  a  satin  doublet  or  woven  hose  ? 
Walk  in,  my  masters,  walk  in  and  choose  the 
best  in  London  town,"  shouted  a  pushing 
mercer's  lad,  hustling  the  passengers  and  plac- 
ing himself  right  in  Master  Saxby's  way. 

"  Nay,  nay,  my  good  lad,  I  want  not  silken 
hose  or  satin  doublet,  but  a  decent  hostelry 
where  I  can  refresh  myself  and  my  tired 
horse."  Master  Saxby  had  alighted,  and  was 
leading  the  poor  jaded  animal,  which  had 
fallen  lame.  This  consideration  of  the  country 
farmer  seemed  to  touch  the  London  appren- 
tice, and,  darting  into  the  crowd  after  a  fair- 
haired  school-boy  about  ten  or  eleven  years 
old,  who  had  just  passed,  he  called,  "  Johnny, 
John  Milton,  here,  take  this  stranger  to  the 
'  Mermaid  ! '  Tis  a  decent  hostelry,  sir,  in 
Broad-street,  and  right  opposite  Master  Mil- 
ton's, the  scrivener,"  said  the  apprentice,  turn- 
ing to  Master  Saxby. 


86  SAXBY. 

"  Is  your  father  the  scrivener,  my  little  lad  ?" 
asked  Master  Saxby,  as  the  gentle-looking, 
fair-haired  boy  placed  himself  at  his  side. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  we  live  at  the  sign  of  the  '  Spread 
Eagle,'  in  Broad-street,  and  the  '  Mermaid,' 
where,  my  father  says,  Master  Will  Shak- 
speare  and  Ben  Jonson  and  other  poets  used 
to  meet  a  year  or  two  ago,  is  a  little  farther 
down,  not  quite  opposite,  as  Tom  Simmons 
said." 

"  Is  Tom  Simmons  your  friend,  my  lad  ?  " 

"  N-no,  not  such  a  friend  as  Gill,  my  school- 
master's son.  Gill  can  write  poetry." 

"  And  would  you  like  to  write  poetry  ?  " 
asked  Master  Saxby,  looking  down  into  the 
fair,  refined  face  of  the  little  boy. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  it  is  almost  as  good  as  music, 
I  think,  and  my  father  writes  music,  you 
know." 

"  Does  he  ?  But  I  thought  you  said  he 
was  a  scrivener — at  least  that  lad  did." 

"  Yes,  he  is.  But  you  must  not  always  be- 
lieve what  Tom  Simmons  says.  He  told  a  lie 
once,  and  said  he  had  been  with  me  to  Allhal- 
lows  Church  to  hear  godly  Master  Gataker,  but 
he  told  me  he  would  not  come  to  hear  that 
Puritan,  and  went  to  Holborn  Fields  to  gather 
May  boughs." 


In  London.  87 

"  Is  the  minister  at  Allhallows  a  Puritan,  my 
little  lad  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  think  so.  My  father  says  he 
preaches  godly  sermons,  although  he  will  not 
have  us  follow  the  king's  '  Book  of  Sports.'  " 

"  Then  is  your  father  a  Puritan  too  ?  "  asked 
Master  Saxby  rather  eagerly. 

"  I  suppose  so.  Master  Stocke,  the  parson 
of  Allhallows,  and  Master  Gataker,  of  Rother- 
hithe,  often  come  to  see  my  father,  and  Tom 
Simmons  says  they  are  both  Puritans." 

"  Ah,  ah  !  then  I  think  I  shall  come  home 
with  you,  my  lad,  and  ask  your  father  to  do 
some  scrivener's  work  for  me,"  said  Master 
Saxby  with  something  of  a  sigh  of  relief,  for 
he  had  been  wondering  who  he  could  get  to 
execute  the  work  he  wanted  done.  This  se- 
cret of  his  was  a  weighty  one,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  intrust  it  to  any  body ;  but  if  this 
Master  Milton  was  a  godly  man  and  a  Puri- 
tan he  would  be  able  to  understand  the  need 
there  was  for  this  work  being  done  promptly 
and  thoroughly. 

They  had  turned  out  of  the  bustle  and  din 
of  Cheapside  now  into  the  more  quiet  Broad- 
street,  and  a  few  minutes  brought  them  to  the 
scrivener's  door.  The  boy  darted  in  at  once 
and  Master  Saxby  soon  followed  to  where  a 


88  SAXBY. 

grave,  elderly  man  sat  writing  at  a  desk,  with 
two  or  three  apprentices  close  by. 

Master  John  Milton  laid  down  his  pen  and 
pushed  the  parchment  on  one  side  to  listen 
to  his  little  son's  tale  of  the  stranger  he  had 
brought  home  with  him  ;  but  when  Master 
Saxby  came  forward  himself  the  child  left  them 
and  went  into  the  room  at  the  back  of  the 
shop  to  tell  his  mother  and  sister  of  his  ad- 
venture. 

Master  Saxby  was  certainly  prepossessed  by 
the  grave  sweetness  of  the  old  scrivener's  face  ; 
but  still  he  needed  to  be  cautious,  and  so, 
merely  saying  he  had  some  weighty  work  to 
be  executed,  if  Master  Milton  thought  he  could 
use  dispatch,  and  promising  to  call  again  when 
the  scrivener  was  less  busy,  he  asked  a  few 
questions  about  the  "  Mermaid  "  as  a  hostelry, 
and  what  sort  of  a  parson  they  had  in  this  par- 
ish, which  led  Master  Milton  to  invite  the 
stranger  to  call  upon  him  that  evening,  when 
the  shop  was  closed,  as  he  expected  the  min- 
ister and  his  worthy  friend,  Master  Gataker, 
to  call  upon  him. 

This  Master  Saxby  readily  promised  to  do, 
for  it  would  give  him  time  to  follow  his  friend 
Hampden's  advice,  and  he  would  walk  up -to 
Gray's  Inn  as  soon  as  he  had  his  dinner,  and 


*  In  London.  89 

find  out  Oliver  Cromwell,  to  consult  him  about 
the  best  scrivener  to  be  employed  upon  his 
business.  Perhaps  he  might  know  this  Master 
Milton,  or  could  find  out  whether  he  was  a  man 
to  be  trusted  in  this  delicate  affair.  Having 
settled  this  matter  in  his  own  mind  he  felt  at 
liberty  to  rest  and  refresh  himself  when  he  had 
seen  that  his  horse  was  well  cared  for. 

Dinner  over,  Master  Saxby  set  out  on  his 
walk  to  Gray's  Inn,  near  Holborn  fields ;  but 
catching  sight  of  Master  Milton's  face  as  he 
passed  his  shop,  he  almost  decided  to  intrust 
the  business  to  him,  whether  Oliver  Cromwell 
knew  him  or  not,  so  anxious  did  he  feel  to 
make  his  acquaintance  and  see  more  of  the 
child,  who  reminded  him  so  much  of  his  own 
dear  Harry.  After  all,  Oliver  was  little  more 
than  a  lad  himself,  and  would,  perhaps,  have 
few  opportunities  of  knowing  what  these  scrive- 
ners were,  although  a  good  deal  of  their  work 
would,  doubtless,  pass  throngh  his  hands  in 
the  course  of  his  law  studies. 

He  had  little  trouble  in  finding  the  young 
student,  and  had  soon  told  him  the  business 
that  brought  him  to  London,  and  also  his 
meeting  with  little  John  Milton,  on  his  way 
home  from  St.  Paul's  school. 

But  young  Cromwell  knew  nothing  of  Mas- 


90  SAXBY. 

ter  Milton,  although  he  knew  a  certain  city 
knight,  Sir  James  Bouchier,  who  probably  did 
know  him,  and,  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  he 
proposed  taking  his  cousin's  friend  with  him  at 
once  to  consult  the  wealthy  furrier  upon  the 
matter  in  hand.  Master  Saxby  demurred  at 
giving  so  much  trouble,  but  young  Cromwell 
declared  he  thought  little  of  the  trouble,  and 
as  he  was  engaged  to  sup  with  the  knight's 
family  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  that 
he  went  an  hour  earlier. 

Arrived  at  the  wealthy  city  merchant's 
house,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  Master  Oliver 
was  welcome,  whatever  the  business  might  be 
that  brought  him,  especially  to  Mistress  Eliza- 
beth, the  eldest  of  the  merchant's  daughters  ; 
and  Master  Saxby  noted  it  as  a  piece  of  gos- 
sip to  be  taken  home  to  his  wife. 

As  young  Cromwell  had  surmised,  Sir  James 
did  know  something  of  Master  Milton  ;  had 
heard  him  spoken  of  as  the  most  trusty  scrive- 
ner in  London,  and  one  to  whom  he  would 
himself  confide  any  business  of  weight  and  se- 
crecy without  hesitation. 

But  he  would  not  hear  of  his  visitor  return- 
ing to  the  "  Mermaid  "  until  he  had  supped, 
although  Master  Saxby  declared  he  was  not 
fit  to  sit  down  with  ladies,  as  he  had  not 


/;/  London.  91 

brought  a  change  of  dress  with  him.  But  the 
merchant  laughed  off  these  scruples,  and  kept 
him  talking  so  long  about  crops  and  cattle, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  country,  that  it  was 
five  o'clock  and  supper- time  before  he  was 
aware  of  it. 

Those  were  not  the  days  when  culinary 
matters  were  left  to  a  servant  entirely,  and 
the  merchant's  daughters  prided  themselves 
on  being  able  to  set  a  well-cooked  meal  on 
their  father's  table ;  and  doubtless  Mistress 
Elizabeth  had  taken  extra  pains  with  the 
salads  to-day  in  anticipation  of  the  visit  of 
Oliver  Cromwell.  There  were  boar's  head 
and  venison  pasties,  boiled  salmon  from  the 
Thames,  and  calves'  foot  pies ;  but  the  most 
intricate  and  delicate  dishes  to  prepare  were 
the  vegetables,  or  salads,  as  they  were  then 
called.  A  dish  of  boiled  mashed  carrots,  to 
which  was  added  cinnamon,  sugar,  ginger,  a 
handful  of  currants,  vinegar,  and  butter,  was 
considered  very  rich,  while  one  of  marigold 
leaves,"  with  similar  additions,  was  considered 
very  choice. 

Master  Saxby  was  inclined  to  turn  up  his 
nose  at  this  fine  cooking ;  but  it  was  evident 
that  young  Cromwell  was  ready  to  be  pleased 
with  any  thing  that  Mistress  Elizabeth  had 


92  SAXBY. 

done,  and  praised  the  housewifely  care  be- 
stowed on  the  preparation  of  these  dishes. 

When  supper  was  over,  and  the  table  cleared 
away,  the  young  people  prepared  to  amuse 
themselves  with  singing,  and  Master  Saxby 
had  a  little  further  talk  with  Sir  James  Bou- 
chier,  during  which  it  came  out  that  he  was 
as  stanch  a  Puritan  as  the  Cromwells,  and 
would  not  suffer  young  Oliver  to  visit  them 
as  he  did  if  he  were  not  assured  that  he  was 
a  steady,  God-fearing  young  man,  earnestly 
striving  to  fit  himself  for  the  responsible  duties 
devolving  upon  him  as  an  elder  son,  who  must, 
to  a  certain  extent,  take  upon  himself  the  du- 
ties of  his  father  toward  his  sisters  and  mother, 
and  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived. 

"  He  has  told  me  it  was  no  easy  matter  for 
him  to  give  up  the  quiet  pursuit  of  learning 
at  Cambridge,  when  his  father  died,  to  come 
up  here  and  learn  something  of  the  practice 
of  the  law ;  but  he  saw  that  if  ever  he  was  to 
make  a  wise  and  just  landlord,  and — as  he 
probably  will  be  some  day — a  justice- of  the 
peace  to  his  neighbors,  he  must  know  some- 
thing of  this  matter.  So  he  has  resolutely  set 
himself  to  do  his  duty,  regardless  of  what  his 
wishes  may  be ;  and  may  God  bless  and  honor 
him  for  it !  "  said  the  knight  warmly. 


In  London.  93 

"Ah,  ah,  to  do  one's  duty  is  not  always  the 
easiest  thing  in  the  world,"  said  Master  Sax- 
by,  with  something  of  a  sigh. 

"  Nay,  nay ;  and  our  young  men  often  think 
that  they  have  little  to  do  but  enjoy  them- 
selves— running  off  to  practice  archery  at  the 
Butts,  by  Southwark  or  in  Moorfields,  think- 
ing little  of  their  master's  business,  and  less 
about  the  duty  they  owe  to  them." 

This  was  said  for  the  benefit  of  two  'pren- 
tice lads,  who  were  standing  near,  waiting  to 
speak  to  their  master  before  he  left  the  shop 
again. 

It  was  quite  dark  by  this  time,  and  so  Sir 
James,  turning  to  these  two,  bade  them  get  a 
link  and  light  Master  Saxby  through  the  city 
to  Broad-street,  and  having  seen  him  safe  to 
the  "  Spread  Eagle,"  to  return  without  delay 
and  help  count  the  skins  that  had  just  been 
delivered. 


94  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A    SOCIAL    EVENING. 

MASTER  SAXBY  was  not  sorry  to  reach 
his  destination  in  Broad-street,  and  very 
thankful  to  the  lads  who  had  conducted  him 
in  safety  through  the  dark,  narrow,  ill-kept 
streets ;  for  there  was  not  only  the  danger  of 
falling  in  some  of  the  numerous  ruts  and  holes 
with  which  these  abounded,  but  robberies  with 
violence  were  of  frequent  occurrence  after 
night-fall,  even  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city, 
and  in  spite  of  the  watch  that  patrolled  its 
streets  for  the  protection  of  wayfarers.  The 
fact  was,  the  cunning  thieves  knew  the  time 
when  the  watchmen  might  be  expected  in  a 
certain  quarter,  and  even  if  the  cries  of  their 
victim  brought  the  welcome,  "  Ho,  ho,"  from 
the  watch,  or  brought  a  few  citizens  from  their 
houses,  the  darkness  made  their  capture  al- 
most impossible,  if  they  were  at  all  dexterous; 
and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  few,  beyond  those 
whom  dire  necessity  compelled,  ever  went  out 
after  nightfall,  unless  it  was  to  visit  a  neigh- 
bor a  few  steps  from  their  own  door,  and  they 


A  Social  Evening.  95 

could  go  and  return  while  the  watch  were 
close  by  to  protect  them.  The  two  'prentice 
lads  who  had  conducted  him  through  the 
streets  carried  each  a  stout  stick,  and  assured 
him  several  times  there  was  no  danger;  for 
if  any  one  attacked  them,  they  would  soon 
raise  the  cry  of  "  Clubs,  clubs!  "  which  would 
bring  forth  from  the  houses  all  the  free  "  'pren- 
tices" of  London,  and  Master  Saxby  knew 
enough  of  "  'prentice  "  customs  to  know  that 
the  boast  was  by  no  means  a  vain  one ;  but 
still  he  was  thankful  to  reach  Master  Milton's 
door  without  such  an  adventure. 

The  two  ministers,  Master  Stocke  and  Mas- 
ter Gataker,  had  already  arrived,  the  children 
had  gone  to  bed,  and  placid  Dame  Milton  sat 
sewing  some  cloth  hose  for  her  little  John. 
She  was  some  years  younger  than  her  hus- 
band, whom  she  looked  up  to  with  a  reverence 
that  made  itself  apparent  even  to  Master  Sax- 
by, while  the  old  scrivener  evidently  regarded 
her  as  a  companion  to  be  most  tenderly  cher- 
ished and  loved. 

Room  was  made  for  the  stranger-guests  at 
once  in  the  pleasant  family  circle,  and  news 
from  the  country,  especially  as  regarded  Puri- 
tanism, was  eagerly  asked  for,  and  the  troubles 
of  poor  Master  Drayton  were  at  once  told,  and 


96  SAXBY. 

almost  before  he  was  aware  of  it  he  had  told 
his  present  errand  to  London. 

He  was  afraid  the  share  he  was  about  to 
take  in  the  protecting  and  helping  Master 
Drayton  would  lead  to  ruinous  fines  being  im- 
posed upon  him,  which  would  eventually  lead 
to  the  loss  of  his  patrimony,  which  he  was 
most  anxious  his  son  should  inherit  intact. 
So,  by  the  advice  of  his  neighbor,  Master 
John  Hampden,  he  had  come  to  London  to 
get  the  necessary  deeds  executed,  giving  this 
to  his  eldest  son  at  once,  and  constituting 
himself,  and,  in  case  of  his  death  or  inability  to 
fulfill  the  duties,  his  second  son  Roger,  trus- 
tees until  Harry  should  return  and  claim  the 
gift.  In  case  of  Harry's  death  he  wished  it  to 
be  provided  that  the  estate  should  go  to  his 
children,  or,  in  case  of  his  dying  childless,  to 
revert  to  Roger  or  Lawrence.  The  secret  fear 
concerning  his  great-grandfather's  curse  falling 
upon  his  children  he  kept  to  himself;  but  still 
it  was  a  powerful  factor  in  actuating  him  to 
take  all  these  precautions  against  the  land 
passing  away  from  the  Saxby  family. 

"Then  it  is  still  dangerous  to  profess  a  pure 
doctrine,  or  to  strive  for  purity  of  worship," 
said  Master  Stocke,  the  minister  of  Allhallows. 
The  London  ministers  were  at  this  time  less 


A  Social  Evening.  97 

open  to  persecution  than  many  of  their  breth- 
ren, for  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  had  a  strong  leaning 
toward  Puritanism  themselves,  and  so  were 
not  likely  to  search  for  it  very  rigorously,  as 
many  other  bishops  did.  In  addition  to  this, 
and  a  more  powerful  reason,  the  citizens  were 
almost  entirely  Puritan  in  their  principles,  and 
they  were  too  useful  in  granting  subsidies  and 
benevolences  to  the  needy  monarch  to  be  of- 
fended with  impunity  in  the  matter  of  their 
religious  convictions. 

"  We  are  in  less  evil  case  than  our  brethren 
of  the  country,"  said  Master  Gataker ;  "  for, 
though  we  cannot  hope  for  much  in  the  way 
of  preferment  to  high  places  in  the  Church, 
many  things  imposed  upon  our  brethren  are 
not  forced  upon  us." 

"  But  you  are  compelled  to  read  the  king's 
'  Book  of  Sports/  exhorting  the  people  to 
break  the  Sabbath,"  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  The  king  commanded  us  so  to  do,  but 
when  the  king's  command  is  contrary  to  the 
teaching  of  God's  word,  think  you  any  godly 
minister  would  hesitate  whom  he  should  obey  ? 
'Tis  but  few  pulpits  in  London  where  the 
'  Book  of  Sports '  is  read,"  concluded  Master 
Gataker. 


98  SAXBY. 

"  Ah,  but  in  our  parish  they  preach  the  doc- 
trine that  it  is  a  man's  duty  to  obey  the  king 
above  all  things  ;  that  his  right  to  rule  is  di- 
vine, and  even  in  matters  of  conscience  it  is 
treason  to  disobey  him." 

The  old  Puritan  divine  shook  his  head 
gravely.  "  The  sin  of  treason  is  as  the  sin  of 
witchcraft,  and  no  man  dare  counsel  that  any 
should  commit  that.  But,  then,  although 
kings  be  the  ministers  appointed  by  God  to 
rule  over  us,  I  hold  not  that  our  King  James 
is  but  another  pope  to  order  the  things  per- 
taining to  the  Church  according  to  his  will. 
An  he  rule  us  according  to  God's  law  we  are 
bound  to  obey  him,  as  saith  St.  Paul,  '  Fear 
God,  honor  the  king.'  " 

"Ah,  ah,  but  in  this  time-serving  age  too 
many  of  our  parsons  forget  St.  Paul,  or  re- 
verse the  order  of  his  command.  It  has 
grown  fashionable,  specially  in  our  parts,  to 
preach  much  about  obeying  the  king,  but 
little  about  the  fear  of  God,"  said  Master 
Saxby. 

"  Yes,  yes,  we  have  heard  of  it,  and  of  the 
tribulation  of  many  of  our  brethren,  who  have 
dared  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God  in 
this  matter,  and  we  know  not  what  to  do,  or 
what  this  thing  will  grow  to  by  and  by.  We 


A  Social  Evening.  99 

who  love  the  doctrine  of  Calvin,  and  would 
fain  see  our  Church  more  like  that  of  Geneva 
in  its  freedom  from  Romish  practices  —  we 
would  rather  also  see  the  king  more  favorable 
to  his  Scottish  subjects  in  their  love  of  Pres- 
byterianism  than  so  anxious  to  force  bishops 
and  a  prayer-book  upon  them." 

"  Nay,  but  the  king  has  taken  the  greatest 
care  to  uphold  the  doctrine  of  Calvin  by  the 
deputies  sent  to  take  part  in  the  disputation 
with  Arminius  at  Dort,"  said  Master  Milton, 
quickly. 

"  Yes,  yes,  he  will  oppose  Arminius  to  his 
face,  and  force  the  Dutch  to  a  persecution  of 
him  if  he  can ;  and  yet  it  is  feared  by  many 
that  his  dislike  of  Presbyterianism,  which  gives 
men  higher  thoughts  of  civil  liberty,  arises 
from  his  overweening  love  of  kingly  authority, 
which  may  yet  lead  him  covertly  to  favor  Ar- 
minianism  as  a  spiritual  power  to  uphold  his 
kingly  right  in  all  things." 

But  Master  Milton  did  not  hold  this  rather 
gloomy  view  of  the  old  Puritan  divine.  Things 
were  bad  enough,  he  knew,  but  he  hoped  the 
next  change  might  be  for  the  better.  The 
power  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  cer- 
tainly on  the  increase.  The  spread  of  learn- 
ing all  over  the  country  had  raised  the  intelli- 
7 


ioo  SAXBY. 

gence  of  the  people,  and  the  king  could  not 
control  the  election  of  members,  as  once  had 
been  the  custom. 

"  King  James  hardly  understood  this  when 
he  told  the  Parliament  a  few  years  ago  '  that 
as  it  was  blasphemy  to  question  what  the  Al- 
mighty could  do  by  his  power,  so  it  was  sedi- 
tion to  inquire  what  a  king  could  do  by  virtue 
of  his  prerogative.' " 

"  Ah,  ah,  that  was  a  bold  speech,  and  made 
many  tremble,  I  trow,"  remarked  Master 
Saxby. 

"  Doubtless  many  trembled  ;  but  not  our 
brave  Commons  ;  for  not  long  afterward  they 
boldly  told  the  king  that  '  new  laws  could  not 
be  instituted,  nor  imperfect  laws  reformed,  nor 
inconvenient  laws  abrogated  by  any  other 
power  than  that  of  the  high  court  of  Parlia- 
ment ; '  that  is,  by  the  agreement  of  the  Com- 
mons, the  accord  of  the  Lords,  and  the  assent 
of  the  king,"  said  Master  Milton,  triumph- 
antly. 

"  Yes,  yes,  the  struggle  has  begun,  but 
when  and  how  will  it  end  ?  "  said  Master  Gat- 
aker,  with  something  of  a  sigh. 

"  The  king  has  certainly  put  an  end  to  this 
struggle  for  the  present  by  ruling  without  a 
Parliament,  and  I  have  heard  that  their  boast- 


A  Social  Evening.  101 

ed  power  could  not  save  one  Master  Pym 
from  imprisonment  for  vaunting  words  spoken 
in  this  same  Parliament,"  remarked  Master 
Saxby. 

"  That  is  true  enough,"  assented  Master 
Milton ;  "  but  there  are  already  whispers 
abroad  that  the  king  will  be  compelled  to  call 
another  Parliament  ere  long,  and  men  are  pre- 
paring themselves  for  the  struggle,  for  many 
things  need  reforming  in  the  State  as  well  as 
in  the  Church." 

"  An  the  king  will  let  us  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  our  own  conscience,  would  it  not 
be  better  to  leave  other  things  alone  and  not 
meddle  with  the  king's  prerogative  ? "  ques- 
tioned gentle  Dame  Milton. 

But  her  husband  shook  his  head,  and  Mas- 
ter Stocke  remarked,  "  The  Reformation  has 
taught  men  to  think  for  themselves,  to  inquire 
into  the  use  and  value  of  many  things  our  fa- 
thers reverenced  without  understanding  them. 
The  uselessness  and  evil  of  many  of  these  led 
them  to  overthrow  the  religious  tyranny  by 
which  they  had  been  governed  for  centuries, 
and  now  the  secular  power  must  reform  at  the 
bidding  of  this  same  principle,  or  it  will  share 
the  fate  of  the  Church  that  governed  England 
before  the  Reformation." 


io2  SAXBY. 

"  They  are  bold  words,  my  brother,"  said 
the  elder  divine,  warningly. 

"  It  were  better  for  Christians  to  let  the 
world  alone,  I  trow,"  said  Dame  Milton. 

"  Nay,  nay,  dame ;  that  might  be  an  our 
blessed  Saviour  had  never  said,  '  Ye  are  the 
salt  of  the  earth,'  "  said  her  husband,  tenderly, 
patting  the  smooth  white  hand  that  had  been 
laid  upon  his  shoulder  as  if  to  stay  him  in  this 
dangerous  work  they  were  discussing. 

"  Ah,  dame,  'tis  a  pity  the  world  cannot  be 
reformed  without  all  this  struggling  and  fight- 
ing," remarked  Master  Saxby  with  a  sigh,  as 
he  thought  of  his  son  and  the  struggle  going 
on  in  the  Protestant  States  of  Germany. 

"  I  have  so  often  thought  of  Master  Pym 
being  shut  up  in  the  Gate-house  when  the  Par- 
liament was  over,  and  of  Dame  Pym  and  her 
bitter  disappointment  and  anxiety  when  he 
did  not  reach  home  as  she  expected,  and  all 
this  suffering  for  a  few  brave  words  that  did 
but  anger  the  king — " 

"  Nay,  nay,  dame ;  Master  Pym  did  but 
speak  the  thoughts  of  many  in  England  to- 
day, and  'tis  but  fair  to  warn  the  king  that  we 
will  not  wear  the  yoke  he  would  fain  impose 
upon  us." 

"  But  'tis  all  about  worldly  matters  the  Par- 


A  Social  Evening.  103 

liament  concerns  itself,"  objected  the  lady ; 
"  if  it  were  a  matter  of  conscience,  such  as 
you  have  suffered  for,  John,  I  would  not  say 
one  word  against  it." 

John  Milton  had  come  of  a  noble,  wealthy, 
Catholic  family,  and  his  friends  had  cast  him 
off  on  his  embracing  the  Protestant  faith.  It 
was  to  this  his  wife  referred. 

"  Nay,  but  dame,  State  matters  and  Church 
matters — the  right  to  worship  God  after  our 
own  hearts'  desire — are  so  interwoven  now 
that  we  cannot  separate  them.  Spiritual  and 
civil  liberty  are  bound  up  together,  and  both 
must  be  won  or  lost  in  this  struggle,"  said 
Master  Stocke. 

"  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  it,"  said  the  lady 
with  a  shiver  of  apprehension.  It  was  but 
yesterday  I  heard  of  another  man  being  seized 
for  speaking  against  the  Court  of  Star-cham- 
ber, and  none,  can  tell  who  may  be  the  next 
even  for  speaking  against  these  shameful  new 
monopolies." 

"  That  is  true  enough,  dame.  But  think 
you  honest  folk  ought  quietly  to  give  up  their 
money  to  enrich  such  creatures  as  this  Sir 
Giles  Mompesson  and  the  court  gallant  Buck- 
ingham, without  a  lawful  protest  being  made 
against  this  most  unlawful  exaction  ?  " 


104  SAX  BY. 

"  But  who  would  dare  to  make  the  pro- 
test ? "  asked  Dame  Milton. 

"  None  would  have  the  right  to  do  it  but 
Parliament,  and  they  will  doubtless  tell  the 
king  that  this  thing  may  not  be  repeated  ex- 
cept by  their  consent." 

"  And  then  some  more  good,  brave  men  will 
be  thrust  into  prison,  and  their  wives  and  lit- 
tle children  be  plunged  into  sorrow  and  mourn- 
ing. Nay,  nay,  I  would  rather  pay  ten  times 
as  much  for  my  currants,  and  never  more  wear 
silver  lace  than  that  this  should  happen." 

"  Ah,  dame,  I  can  feel  for  you  there,"  said 
Master  Gataker ;  "  but,  I  fear  me,  if  the  same 
spirit  was  in  our  Parliament  men  we  should 
have  to  leave  out  in  our  readings  those  pre- 
cious words  of  David :  '  The  earth  is  the  Lord's, 
and  the  fullness  thereof,'  for  it  would  be  full 
of  violence  and  extortion,  and  the  devil  would 
soon  have  it  all  his  own  way.  -Nay,  nay,  the 
world  belongs  to  God  still,  and  we  wont  give 
it  up  to  the  devil,  hard  as  he  may  try  for  it." 

"  But  think  of  the  sorrow  and  the  suffering ! 
Only  last  week  I  saw  a  man  in  the  pillory  for 
writing  something  that  had  given  offense  to 
the  king  and  council." 

"  Ah,  true,  dame ;  and  there  was  a  cross 
reared  once  on  a  green  hill-top,  and  one  suf- 


A  Social  Evening.  105 

fered  there  more  cruel  pangs  than  those  of  the 
pillory ;  and  all  because  he  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  would  not  let  the  devil  keep  the  prize 
he  thought  he  had  cheated  God  of.  He  never 
taught  us  that  God's  work  of  saving  the  world 
could  be  easily  or  cheaply  done,  and  so  we 
must  not  be  surprised  at  the  struggling  and 
fighting,  or  shrink  from  bearing  our  part  in  it, 
if  God  call  us  to  endure  it.  Now,  friends,  let 
us  pray.  This  is  the  true  source  of  strength 
and  courage  and  all  might;"  and  Master  Gat- 
aker  prayed  with  a  fervor  that  carried  all  hearts 
with  him,  and  made  even  timid  Dame  Milton 
forget  her  fears  for  the  present. 

Then  the  Bible  was  brought  out,  and  Master 
Gataker  turned  its  leaves  over  to  the  account 
of  Gideon,  and  his  heroic  deeds  on  behalf  of 
an  oppressed  people;  and  read  it  aloud  in  such 
tones  of  thrilling  power  that  every  heart  was 
stirred  and  strengthened,  and  almost  longed 
for  some  call  of  duty  bidding  them  emulate 
the  noble  deeds  of  the  heroic  old  Hebrew. 

Whatever  we  may  think,  and  whatever  critics 
may  say,  about  this  portion  of  God's  word,  it 
is  incontestible  that  our  Puritan  forefathers — 
the  heroes  of  their  own  and  of  every  age — 
drew  inspiration,  strength,  and  courage  by 
drawing  deeply  and  largely  from  this  well  of 


106  SAXBY. 

salvation.  Many  a  weak  heart,  wearied  with 
the  long,  long  struggle  of  right  against  might, 
came  back  to  this  old  story  of  Gideon,  and 
read,  with  ever-rising  courage  and  hope,  the 
glorious  triumphant  song  of  Deborah  and  Ba- 
rak. Even  their  very  weakness  was  turned 
into  a  source  of  strength,  and  was  gloried  in 
and  triumphed  over,  as  making  them  the  chos- 
en instruments  of  God  to  confound  the  wise 
and  mighty  of  the  world.  We  read  the  same 
soul-stirring  words  now,  and  our  hearts  break 
into  a  song,  but  little  do  we  know  of  their 
sweetness  and  strength  as  compared  with  those 
held  perhaps  within  prison  walls  for  essaying 
to  do  some  noble  deed,  or  uttering  some  true 
brave  words,  yet  comforting  themselves  with 
the  thought  that  the  battle  was  no  uncertain 
one,  since  God  was  on  their  side ;  and  though 
they  might  be  shut  up  and  never  permitted  to 
lift  a  hand  again  in  the  fight,  others  would 
grasp  the  standard  and  press  on  to  victory. 

Some  such  thoughts  as  these  rested  in  the 
hearts  of  all  our  friends  as  they  separated  for 
the  night.  They  could  hear  the  watch  ap- 
proaching, and  under  their  escort  Master  Sax- 
by  would  return  to  the  "  Mermaid,"  and  the 
ministers  would  go  together  to  the  home  of 
Master  Stocke,  close  to  All-hallows  Church, 


Gammer  Grove.  107 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

GAMMER  GROVE. 

MASTER  SAXBY'S  stay  in  London  was 
not  a  long  one,  but  while  the  necessary 
deeds  were  being  prepared  he  contrived  to  see 
little  John  Milton  very  often,  and  most  of  his 
evenings  were  spent  in  the  quiet  family  circle 
listening  to  the  music  of  which  Master  Milton 
was  so  fond,  or  talking  to  gentle  Dame  Milton 
as  she  sat  sewing.  But  the  week  in  London 
soon  came  to  an  end,  and  with  a  promise  to 
call  and  see  the  scrivener  whenever  he  should 
visit  the  great  city  again,  Master  Saxby  once 
more  turned  his  steps  homewards.  He  went 
a  mile  or  two  out  of  his  way  to  call  upon  John 
Hampden  and  leave  the  deeds  for  him  to  look 
over,  and  there  he  was  met  with  a  tale  of  fresh 
troubles  having  fallen  upon  Master  Drayton. 

"  Some  meddlesome  body  in  Great  Kimble 
has  accused  poor  old  Gammer  Grove  of  being  a 
witch,  because  they  saw  Master  Drayton  leave 
her  cottage  after  dark.  It  was  not  deemed 
safe  that  the  ministers  who  have  met  together 
with  him  for  the  study  of  God's  Word  should 


io8  SAX  BY. 

go  to  his  house  just  now,  since  the  place  is 
doubtless  watched  by  the  bishop's  spies,  and 
so  Gammer  Grove's  cottage  was  chosen  as  the 
place  of  meeting — Master  Drayton  knowing 
her  to  be  a  godly,  steadfast  woman,  not  likely 
to  betray  them.  Little  did  he  think  it  could 
bring  trouble  upon  her,  seeing  she  was  held 
in  such  high  esteem  by  the  neighbors.  But  a 
day  or  two  ago,  when  she  went  through  the 
village,  a  few  of  the  idle  lads  set  up  the  cry 
after  her,  '  a  witch  !  a  witch  ! '  and  yesterday, 
when  she  went  to  inquire  after  the  blacksmith's 
sick  child,  the  door  was  slammed  in  her  face, 
and  she  was  accused  of  making  the  little  fellow 
ill,  as  well  as  causing  all  the  sickness  among 
the  cattle  in  the  neighborhood.  Then  another 
angry  woman  asked  her  who  the  tall  stranger 
was,  with  horns  and  hoofs,  who  came  to  visit 
her  so  often;  which  at  once  convinced  the 
poor  old  woman  what  was  the  cause  of  the  ac- 
cusation. She  begged  Master  Drayton  not  to 
come  again  to  her  cottage,  and  she  hoped  the 
affair  would  blow  over ;  but  he  is  anxious  to 
go  at  once  and  declare  the  whole  business,  and 
I  hardly  know  what  to  advise  in  the  matter." 

"  Leave  it  to  me,  Master  Hampden,  and  tell 
Master  Drayton  not  to  stir  in  the  business, 
and  I'll  protect  poor  old  Gammer  Grove,  never 


Gammer  Grove.  109 

fear,"  said  Master  Saxby,  quickly.  "The  wit- 
less knaves  must  surely  be  mad  to  accuse  that 
poor  old  woman  of  being  a  witch.  Why,  she 
was  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to 
any  one  in  trouble,  and  when  there  was  so 
much  sickness  in  the  village  two  years  ago, 
Gammer  Grove  was  nurse  to  every  poor  body 
in  turn." 

"  Well,  well,  if  you  can  make  them  see  rea- 
son, neighbor  Saxby,  I  shall  be  glad  if  Master 
Drayton  can  be  spared  making  any  stir  in  the 
matter,  as  it  might  bring  trouble  to  two  or 
three  other  ministers  in  these  parts;  but  re- 
member the  poor  old  woman  must  be  protect- 
ed at  all  costs,"  said  Master  Hampden. 

"  Never  fear,  never  fear  but  I  will  protect 
her,"  said  the  farmer,  rising  as  he  spoke. 

The  deeds  had  been  handed  to  Master 
Hampden,  and  a  few  words  said  about  the 
worthy  scrivener  who  had  drawn  them  up ;  and 
had  there  been  time  more  would  have  been 
said  about  the  meeting  with  the  two  Puritan 
divines  at  Master  Milton's  house,  but  Master 
Saxby  was  anxious  to  reach  home  now,  with 
as  little  delay  as  possible.  He,  therefore,  urged 
his  horse  to  a  brisk  canter  as  soon  as  he  left 
Master  Hampden's  door.  At  first  he  thought 
he  would  stop  at  the  blacksmith's  shed,  and 


SAXBY. 

inquire  what  the  village  news  was,  and  whether 
any  thing  had  happened  during  his  absence,  as 
he  frequently  did  when  he  had  been  a  few 
days  from  home,  but  second  thoughts  made 
him  decide  to  go  straight  home  and  get  the 
news  there.  His  dame  would  be  sure  to  have 
heard  all  the  village  gossip,  and  ready  enough 
to  tell  him  every  thing  that  had  happened, 
which  the  blacksmith  might  not  be  very  for- 
ward to  do  if  he  had  joined  in  this  foolish  out- 
cry against  poor  old  Gammer  Grove. 

So  he  did  not  draw  rein  until  he  reached 
the  porch  before  his  own  door,  where  his  wife 
appeared  the  next  minute  to  meet  and  wel- 
come him  home. 

As  soon  as  the  first  greetings  were  over  and 
Hodge  had  been  called  to  take  his  horse  to  the 
stable,  Master  Saxby  said  quickly,  "  What  is 
all  this  about  Gammer  Grove,  Moll  ?  " 

"  Gammer  Grove  ? "  repeated  the  dame, 
bustling  off  to  prepare  a  meal  for  her  hungry 
husband.  "  Here,  Deb,  bring  that  cold  chine, 
and  Sally  come  and  set  the  table  ready  for 
supper,"  she  called,  as  she  hurried  to  the  dairy 
to  get  some  fresh  butter. 

Master  Saxby  saw  it  would  be  little  use 
questioning  his  wife  until  supper  was  on  the 
table,  at  least,  but  Roger  and  Larry  coming  in 


Gammer  Grove.  1 1  r 

at  that  moment,  he  at  once  began  questioning 
them.  Lawrence  did  not  answer  his  father's 
question  at  all,  but  left  his  elder  brother  to  do 
this,  while  he  went  and  stood  at  the  window. 

Roger  hesitated,  and  seemed  confused  when 
his  father  said,  "  My  lad,  I  want  you  tell  me 
all  you  know  about  this  foolish  business  of 
Gammer  Grove  being  a  witch." 

"  But  I  don't  know  that  it  is  so  foolish,  fa- 
ther," said  Roger,  plucking  up  a  little  courage 
at  last.  "  There's  a  witch  about  somewhere, 
that's  certain,  and  more  than  one  person  in 
these  parts  is  bewitched,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
cattle  that's  dying  all  round.  Our  Cowslip's 
dead." 

"Cowslip?"  repeated  the  farmer;  "how 
came  you  to  let  that  happen  ?  I  wouldn't 
have  spared  fifty  pounds  to  save  that  cow." 

"  We  did  all  we  could,  father.  Hodge  sat 
up  all  the  night  before  last  to  see  that  the 
witch  did  not  come  nigh  the  barn,  and  he  used 
all  sorts  of  things  to  break  the  spells,  but  it 
was  all  of  no  use  ;  there's  no  fighting  against 
witch  spells  ;  and  they  say  Gammer  Grove  is 
a  bad  one,  for  all  she  is  so  demure." 

"  Gammer  Grove  a  witch  !  Why  you  will 
say  your  own  mother  is  one  next,  you  witless 
knave,"  said  Master  Saxby,  half  angrily. . 


1 1 2  SAXBY. 

"  But  there's  Cowslip,  and  she's  not  the  only 
cow  that's  died  about  here  lately,"  objected 
Roger. 

"  Poor  Cowslip !  I  wish  I  had  been  home 
before  she  died.  But  still,  I'll  never  believe 
Gammer  Grove  had  any  thing  to  do  with  her 
sickness  or  death.  There  must  be  some  dis- 
ease among  the  cattle  just  now.  A  kind- 
hearted  old  woman  like  the  gammer,  who  has 
nursed  every  child  in  the  village  and  been 
ready  to  do  any  body  a  good  turn,  would  never 
kill  my  cows." 

"  Not  until  the  devil  got  hold  of  her,"  said 
Roger — a  sentiment  he  devoutly  believed  in 
himself. 

But  Master  Saxby  shook  his  head.  "  I 
doubt  whether  the  devil  comes  so  readily  un- 
less he  is  invited,  and  we  know  Gammer  Grove 
too  well  to  think  that  of  her.  Besides,  Roger, 
I  know  the  gammer  has  had  nothing  to  do  with 
this  business,"  concluded  Master  Saxby  in  a 
decided  tone. 

"  Well,  father,  I  might  have  said  the  same 
about  the  gammer  once,  but  it's  no  use  going 
against  the  whole  village  when  they've  seen 
the  Evil  One  leaving  her  cottage  more  than 
once — ay,  and  smelt  him  too,"  concluded 
Roger. 


Gammer  Grove.  \  \  3 

"  What  will  the  witless  knaves  say  next  ?  " 
exclaimed  Master  Saxby. 

"  It 's  true  enough,  I  can  tell  you,  father." 

"  That  they  said  it  ?  Well,  perhaps  so  ;  but 
what  will  you  say,  Roger,  when  I  tell  you  that 
I  know  who  it  was  left  Gammer  Grove's  cot- 
tage, and  that  he  was  an  honest  gentleman  who 
little  thought  to  get  the  poor  old  woman  into 
trouble  through  it  ?  " 

But  Roger  was  still  unconvinced.  All  the 
village  said  she  was  a  witch,  and  how  could  his 
father  know  any  thing  about  it,  since  he  had 
been  in  London  ever  since  the  discovery  had 
been  made  ?  At  this  moment  Dame  Saxby 
came  in,  and  her  husband  at  once  turned  to 
question  her. 

"  Don't  ask  me  what  I  think  about  the  de- 
ceitful, wicked  old  woman,  to  kill  my  favorite 
cow  because  she  saw  I  was  finding  out  her 
wickedness  and  how  she  was  bewitching  every 
body  and  making  every  thing  miserable  for 
us." 

"  Come,  come,  dame,  I  shall  think  you  are 
bewitched  if  you  talk  like  this  of  poor  old 
Gammer  Grove,"  said  her  husband. 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  am.  At  all  events  some 
folks  not  far  from  me  are  !  "  snapped  the  dame. 

"  Perhaps  we  are  all  bewitched  together," 


1 14  SAXBY. 

said  Roger,  in  a  grumbling  tone,  glancing 
down  at  the  stockings  that  had  been  made  for 
him  out  of  his  brother's  table  cover.  Every 
private  grievance  that  any  body  had  against 
another  was  being  set  down  to  the  spells  Gam- 
mer Grove  had  woven  against  them ;  and  as 
Harry,  in  his  kindly  good  nature,  had  often 
spoken  a  pleasant  word,  or  helped  the  old 
woman  home  with  a  load  of  sticks,  Roger  had 
taken  up  the  notion  that  it  was  through  the 
spells  of  witchcraft  he  was  such  a  favorite  with 
his  mother  and  every  body  who  knew  him,  and 
that  she  had  worked  against  him  to  a  like  de- 
gree. What  but  this  ill  feeling  against  him 
could  have  made  his  mother  cut  his  stockings 
out  of  the  damaged  table-cover  that  had  been 
Harry's  ?  Not  that  there  was  any  fault  spe- 
cially to  be  found  with  the  stockings ;  they 
were  as  good  as — perhaps  rather  better  than — 
those  he  usually  wore,  and  Larry  had  a  pair 
like  them,  but  then  Larry's  had  been  cut  from 
cloth  specially  provided,  and  not  from  his 
brother's  left-off  things  ;  and  here  lay  the  sting 
to  Roger.  Of  course  he  dared  not  give  vent 
to  these  feelings  aloud,  but  he  nursed  them  in 
his  own  heart,  and  they  grew  in  bitterness,  day 
by  day,  increasing  the  dislike,  almost  hatred, 
he  felt  against  his  absent  brother,  and  often 


Gammer  Grove.  1 1 5 

making  him  morose  and  gloomy  even  toward 
Larry. 

Master  Saxby  knew  not  what  to  do  when 
he  heard  his  wife  declare  her  belief  in  the 
charge  brought  against  poor  old  Gammer  Grove. 
He  was  both  surprised  and  disappointed  too, 
for  he  had  secretly  relied  upon  receiving  both 
help  and  advice  from  his  shrewd  wife  in  this 
delicate  affair ;  and  to  find  himself  thus  sud- 
denly thrown  upon  his  resources  was  a  puzzle 
he  knew  not  how  to  solve. 

He  had  no  appetite  for  supper  now,  and 
even  the  savory  pie  that  had  been  specially 
prepared  for  his  home-coming  was  pushed 
aside  almost  untasted,  to  Dame  Saxby's  great 
vexation,  who  began  to  fear  now  that  her  hus- 
band was  going  to  be  ill,  since  he  could  not 
eat  savory  pie. 

In  vain  the  poor  man  protested  that  he  was 
only  tired  from  his  long  journey,  and  a  little 
put  out  by  this  business  of  Gammer  Grove's. 
His  wife  would  not  believe  in  the  one,  and  de- 
clared that  the  old  woman  was  not  worth 
troubling  about,  and  the  sooner  she  was  out  of 
the  way  the  better. 

Master  Saxby  did  not  attach  much  impor- 
tance to  these  last  words,  and  soon  after  the 
table  was  cleared  away  he  went  to  bed  to  try 


n6  SAXBY. 

and  think  out  some  plan  of  action  for  the  next 
day,  for  something  must  be  done  at  once  to 
stop  the  general  outcry  against  the  poor  old 
woman,  or  there  was  no  telling  how  it  might 
end. 

Meanwhile  Dame  Saxby  and  Roger  were 
talking  over  the  same  matter  down-stairs,  and 
if  the  farmer  could  only  have  heard  the  con- 
ference he  would  probably  have  got  up  that 
very  night  and  sought  further  aid  on  the  poor 
old  woman's  behalf. 

"  What  do  you  think  now,  my  son,  about 
your  father  and  this  witch-wife  ?  "  said  Dame 
Saxby,  when  she  and  Roger  were  left  to 
themselves. 

Roger  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  don't 
know  what  to  think.  My  father  says  he  knows 
who  it  is  that  has  been  to  her  cottage  of  late." 

"  Of  course  he  says  so  ;  of  course  the  old 
witch  has  made  her  tale  good — told  him  it  was 
some  Puritan  parson,  I  dare  say  ;  for,  now  I 
come  to  think  of  it,  she  used  to  be  reckoned 
a  Puritan  when  there  was  such  a  rout  among 
them,  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  ;  and  though  I 
never  heard  any  of  them  accused  of  witchcraft, 
depend  upon  it  they  don't  mind  seeking  its 
aid  to  get  the  help  and  countenance  of  a  rich 
man  like  your  father.  It  's  through  her  witch 


Gammer  Grove.  117 

spells  that  she  has  made  him  so  ready  to  lose 
every  thing  for  the  sake  of  declaring  himself  a 
Puritan." 

Dame  Saxby  had  talked  herself  out  of  breath 
in  her  anger,  and  now  paused.  "  But  how  are 
we  to  stop  the  mischief  now,  mother  ?  "  said 
Roger.  "  I  cannot  bear  to  see  my  father  ruin 
himself,  as  he  will  do,  I  am  sure ;  for  only  to- 
day, when  I  met  Parson  Crane,  he  stopped 
and  asked  me  if  it  was  true  that  my  father  had 
determined  to  protect  that  treasonable  Puritan 
in  the  next  parish." 

"What  did  you  tell  him,  Roger?"  asked 
Dame  Saxby.  "  It  will  not  do  to  offend  Mas- 
ter Crane  now,  you  know,"  she  added. 

"  I  said  I  knew  little  of  my  father's  affairs, 
but  that  I  always  meant  to  abide  by  my  own 
parish  church,  and  never  run  after  sectaries, 
whoever  they  might  be." 

"  That's  right,  Roger ;  and  we  must  all  be 
careful  to  be  seen  in  our  places  at  church,  too. 
To-morrow  you  shall  carry  Master  Crane  a 
couple  of  fowls  and  a  score  of  eggs.  If  he 
cannot  preach  a  sermon  he  has  the  ear  of  the 
bishop,  I'm  told,  and  may  make  things  lighter 
for  your  father,  if  the  worst  comes  to  the 
worst.  And,  now,  about  this  witch ;  she  must 
be  got  rid  of  somehow.  I  wish  she  would  go 


n8  SAXBY. 

right  away  from  the  place,  and  never  come 
back." 

"  What  would  be  the  good  of  that,  if  she 
left  her  spells  upon  my  father  and — and  the 
rest  of  us  ?  "  asked  Roger,  significantly.  "  No, 
mother,  we  must  try  her  in  the  usual  way, 
and  the  sooner  the  better.  Some  of  them 
were  talking  about  it  yesterday;  the  pond  is 
pretty  full  now,  and — " 

"  But  I  should  not  like  her  to  be  drowned, 
Roger.  She  saved  poor  Harry's  life  when  he 
was  struck  with  the  plague,  and  I  was  worn 
out  with  nursing  him ;  for  no  one  else  would 
come  nigh  the  house." 

"  Well,  mother,  every  body  has  got  some 
such  tale  about  the  old  woman,  and  yet  you 
were  the  first  to  get  up  this  cry  against  her. 
What  is  it  you  do  want  ?  " 

Truth  to  tell,  the  fact  of  having  saved  his 
brother's  life,  and  so  prevented  him  from  in- 
heriting the  rich  Saxby  lands,  did  not  tell 
much  in  the  old  woman's  favor  with  Roger, 
and  he  rather  angrily  repeated,  "  Now,  mother, 
tell  us  what  it  is  you  do  want."  • 

"  Well,  Roger,  I  shouldn't  like  to  think  the 
poor  old  woman  was  drowned,  and  through 
me,  too ;  but  if  you  could  threaten  her  with 
it,  and  drive  her  away  from  the  village,  so  that 


Gammer  Grove.  119 

she'd  be  afraid  ever  to  show  her  head  in  these 
parts  again,  things  would  soon  come  right  of 
themselves,  I  know." 

"  Well,  mother,  we  '11  try  your  plan  if  we 
can,  though  I  don't  see  much  difference  my- 
self in  drowning  the  old  witch  outright  and 
driving  her  away  to  die  of  starvation ;  for 
what  is  she  to  do  anywhere  else  but  beg  or 
starve  ?  She  can't  take  her  cottage  and  gar- 
den with  her,  and  she  is  past  work  now,  you 
know." 

"  No,  I  don't  know  any  thing  about  it,  nor 
you  either,  Roger.  She  may  have  friends  to 
go  to  for  what  you  can  tell ;  at  all  events  you 
ought  to  drive  her  away,  if  you  can,  before 
she  does  any  more  mischief." 

"  Very  well,  mother,  I  '11  talk  to  some  of 
them  in  the  village  to-morrow,  and  hear  what 
they  say.  The  blacksmith  is  ready  for  any 
thing  since  his  little  lad  fell  sick,  and  Hodge 
is  the  same  since  poor  Cowslip  died." 

"  Very  well,  then,  tell  them  to  give  the  old 
woman  a  good  fright.  I  '11  say  nothing  against 
that,  but  give  them  a  horn  of  strong  ale  to 
do  it.  But,  mind,  your  father  must  know 
nothing  of  this,  or  he  will  interfere,  and  he 
would  rather  have  you  all  stood  in  the  stocks, 
though  you  are  his  own  son,  Roger,  than  that 


i2o  SAXBY. 

any  thing  happen  to  this  old  woman,  I   do 
believe." 

"  Never  fear,  mother,  we  will  keep  it  close 
from  him.  I  don't  need  to  be  told  that  I  am 
nothing  to  my  father,"  he  added  bitterly,  as 
he  left  the  room  and  went  up  to  bed. 


Trying  the  Witch.  121 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TRYING    THE    WITCH. 

MASTER  SAXBY  walked  down  to  the 
village  the  next  day  as  soon  as  the 
ordinary  business  of  the  farm  had  been  dis- 
patched and  the  state  of  the  cattle  more  care- 
fully noted.  They  all  seemed  healthy  enough 
now,  and  Master  Saxby  hoped  he  should  not 
hear  of  any  sickness  among  his  neighbors' 
stock,  for  he  had  set  himself  the  task  of  rea- 
soning the  people  out  of  their  foolish  fears 
about  Gammer  Grove  being  a  witch. 

The  first  place  he  stopped  at  in  his  walk 
through  the  village  was  the  blacksmith's  forge, 
to  tell  him  of  a  little  job  he  wanted  done,  to 
ask  after  the  sick  child,  and  so  lead  on  to  the 
foolish  outcry  against  Gammer  Grove  ;  for 
Master  Saxby  knew  that  Dobbs  was  some- 
thing of  a  leader  among  the  village  gossips, 
and  his  forge  was  the  general  rendezvous  after 
the  ale-house.  But  Master  Saxby  had  scarcely 
asked  the  question  about  the  child  before  the 
blacksmith  began  pouring  out  his  complaints 
about  Gammer  Grove  and  the  mischief  she 


122  SAXBY. 

was  doing;  and  how  he  hoped  a  stop  would 
soon  be  put  to  her  wickedness,  for  his  little 
lad  was  no  better,  although  every  known  rem- 
edy against  witch-spells  had  been  tried,  and 
he  was  then  wearing  three  charms,  each  of 
which  his  wife  had  been  assured  was  infallible 
in  curing  sickness. 

The  farmer  sighed  as  he  listened  to  the 
swarthy  blacksmith's  tale  of  distress,  but  still 
he  ventured  to  say,  as  the  man  concluded  : 
"  Well,  Dobbs,  I  don't  doubt  but  the  child  is 
very  ill,  but  still  I  cannot  see  why  you  charge 
poor  old  Gammer  Grove  with  causing  this 
sickness.  I  am  sure  she  would  rather  help 
than  injure  you." 

"  Ah,  ah,  sir,  that  was  when  things  went 
pretty  much  her  own  way ;  but  we  all  know 
she's  a  Puritan  and  dead  set  against  Church 
ales,  wakes,  and  all  Sunday  frolicking.  Since 
Parson  Crane  come  among  us,  and  taught  so 
much  of  the  king's  '  Sport  Book,'  the  old 
v/oman  has  never  set  her  foot  inside  the  church, 
telling  folks  the  service  was  half  Papist,  and 
she  would  none  of  it." 

"  Well,  Dobbs,  I  myself  have  heard  you  say 
there  never  was  so  much  rioting  and  drunken- 
ness as  since  the  Sunday  revels  began." 

"Yes,  sir,  I  have,  and  I'll  say  it  again;  and 


Trying  the  Witch.  123 

not  only  Sunday,  but  Monday,  too,  and  half 
the  week  the  witless  knaves  are  drinking  ale 
and  lamb's  wool  instead  of  doing  their  work ; 
but  still  it  is  not  for  me  to  set  myself  above 
my  betters,  and  say  it  is  all  through  the  junk- 
etings on  Sunday." 

"  Well,  I  will  say  it,  and  I  have  told  Master 
Crane  the  same  thing,  and  that  he  ought  to 
teach  us  that  the  whole  day  should  be  kept 
holy." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  suppose  the  king  and  bishops 
know  best  about  that,  and  we  are  bound  to 
believe  them  and  do  as  we  are  taught — least- 
ways that  is  Parson  Crane's  opinion,  and  it 
suits  a  good  many  of  us,  you  see." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  it  does ;  but  don't  you 
think  a  man  ought  to  ponder  over  these  ques- 
tions, and  decide  for  himself,  instead  of  be- 
lieving every  thing  he  is  told  to  believe?" 

"  Well,  sir,  hammering  is  more  in  my  way 
than  thinking.  I  never  was  much  at  that. 
When  Parson  Hammond  was  here,  of  course 
I  was  bound  to  believe  what  he  said — go  to 
church  twice  on  Sundays  and  keep  out  of  the 
ale-house,  if  I  possibly  could ;  but  now  Parson 
Crane  says  I  may  go,  and  the  king  will  not 
iave  me  hindered.  Why  should  I  stay  away, 
since  his  majesty  has  taken  so  much  trouble 


1 24  SAXBY. 

that  his  loyal  subjects  shall  not  be  hindered 
in  taking  their  pleasure  ?  It  is  only  for  us 
who  are  loyal,"  added  the  man,  with  a  touch 
of  pride  in  his  tone,  "  for  Papists  and  Puritans 
are  forbidden  the  privilege  of  these  Sunday 
sports." 

"  Well,  well,  it  is  useless  for  me  to  raise  my 
voice  against  them,  I  see ;  but  now  I  ask  you, 
Dobbs,  as  an  honest  man,  to  do  what  you  can 
to  stop  this  foolish  outcry  about  Gammer 
Grove  being  a  witch.  You  know  it  isn't  true." 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't ;  and  I  can't  promise  to  do 
more  than  this — that  she  sha'n't  be  interfered 
with  for  another  week,  if  you'll  send  her  out 
of  the  parish — right  away  out  of  Buckingham- 
shire, so  that  she  '11  never  come  back." 

"  But,  Dobbs,  how  can  I  do  that  ?  Would 
you  have  her  driven  away  to  die  of  starva- 
tion ?  For  it  would  be  nothing  less ! "  ex- 
claimed Master  Saxby  in  astonishment. 

The  feeling  Dobbs  manifested  against  the 
poor  old  woman  was  so  much  stronger  than 
he  expected  that  he  hardly  knew  what  to  do. 
But  still  he  did  not  despair  of  being  able  to 
modify  the  opinion  of  the  villagers  so  that 
they  would,  at  least,  leave  her  alone,  though 
doubtless  she  would  be  shunned  and  looked 
upon  with  suspicion  for  some  time  to  come. 


Trying  the  Witch.  125 

So  from  the  blacksmith's  forge  he  went  on  to 
the  ale-house,  and  called  for  a  mug  of  lamb's 
wool  to  be  brought  to  him  in  the  porch,  where 
two  or  three  old  cronies  of  the  village  were 
talking  over  the  much-vexed  question  of 
Prince  Charles'  marriage  with  a  princess  of 
Spain. 

"  What  would  our  good  Queen  Elizabeth 
have  said  to  this  Popish  match,  bringing  our 
blackest  foe  into  the  kingdom  ?  "  said  one  old 
farmer,  with  a  groan. 

"  Ah,  ah,  neighbor,  you  may  well  say  that. 
When  I  was  in  London  I  went  to  see  Smith- 
field,  where  so  many  martyr  fires  were  lighted, 
and  mainly 'through  another  Spanish  match, 
if  all  is  true  that  our  fathers  have  told  us," 
said  Master  Saxby,  joining  the  group  of  gos- 
sips. 

He  was  eagerly  welcomed,  and  the  latest 
news  he  had  brought  from  London,  and  the 
opinions  he  had  heard  there  about  this  dis- 
tasteful marriage  of  their  future  king,  were 
warmly  discussed.  It  was  with  some  difficulty 
he  could  introduce  the  subject  he  had  so  much 
at  heart  just  now — poor  old  Gammer  Grove, 
and  the  charge  brought  against  her.  Then 
he  found  that  these  old  folks  had  not  troub- 
led themselves  much  about  her. 


126  SAXBY. 

"  She  may  have  made  a  bargain  with  the 
devil,  as  the  youngsters  are  saying,  but  it  need 
not  trouble  us  that  I  see,"  said  one  jovial  old 
man. 

"  Not  if  she  leaves  our  cattle  alone,  and 
don't  use  her  witch  spells  against  any  of  us ; 
but  neighbor  Saxby,  I  have  heard,  has  lost 
one  of  the  finest  cows  in  the  country  side 
through  the  old  woman's  arts,  and  so — 

"  Nay,  nay,  I  never  said  she  killed  poor 
Cowslip,"  interposed  Master  Saxby  ;  "  I  don't 
believe  the  old  woman  would  do  any  one  an 
ill  turn,"  he  added. 

"  Well,  that  may  be,  and  it  may  not,"  said 
one  ;  "  but  you  can't  deny  that  she's  always 
been  strange  and  unsociable  like,  unless  it  was 
at  a  time  of  sickness,  and  then  I've  thought, 
may  be  that  being  her  own  evil  work,  she 
wanted  to  come  in  and  see  it,  to  say  nothing 
of  its  screening  her  from  all  suspicion." 

"  Prithee,  now  you  come  to  talk  of  it  in 
that  way,  nothing  is  more  likely,"  said  a  third 
burly  farmer,  "  and  though  nothing  in  the 
way  of  polygamy  or  infanticide  could  be 
proved  against  the  sectaries  who  used  to  meet 
in  her  barn,  before  they  were  driven  out  of 
the  parish,  depend  upon  it  there  was  much 
evil  done  among  them,  and  old  Gammer 


Trying  tlie  Witch.  127 

Grove  has  been  practicing  their  arts  again  of 
late." 

"  Nay,  nay,  good  neighbors,  be  just  even  in 
your  anger  against  the  poor  old  gammer.  No 
one  could  ever  say  these  sectaries  or  Brown- 
ists  were  other  than  sober  and  industrious 
folk,  and  you  know  that,  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  I  went  more  than  once  to  see  what  was 
done  at  their  meetings,  of  which  I  had  re- 
ceived complaint ;  but  I  never  saw  or  heard 
aught  but  what  would  profit  any  Christian 
man  to  follow.  Praying  and  reading  God's 
word,  with  some  simple  exhortation  to  live  as 
became  the  children  of  God,  was  all  that  took 
place  in  Gammer  Grove's  old  barn." 

"  Ah,  ah,  Master  Saxby,  these  Brownists,  or 
Independents,  as  they  loved  to  call  them- 
selves, were  too  cunning  to  practice  any  evil 
deeds  with  a  justice  of  the  peace  present;  but, 
depend  upon  it,  there  was  some  truth  in  the 
tales  that  were  talked  about  them,  or  else 
why  did  they  not  go  to  church  ?  for  Parson 
Hammond  was  as  much  a  Puritan  as  them- 
selves." 

"Well,  neighbor,  I  never  had  any  complaint 
about  these  sectaries  except  in  the  matter  of 
their  not  going  to  church,  and  their  holding 
meetings  in  Gammer  Grove's  old  barn ;  but  as 


128  SAXBY. 

that  has  been  pulled  down  long  since,  and  these 
Puritans  gone  beyond  the  seas,  I  don't  think 
we  can  charge  the  gammer  with  their  doings. 
So  I  hope  we  shall  all  be  fair  and  just  in  our 
dealings  with  her  as  becomes  Englishmen." 

"Ah,  ah,  we'll  be  fair  enough  with  her,- 
neighbor  Saxby,"  said  one  or  two,  as  Master 
Saxby  turned  away.  He  had  another  visit  to 
pay  after  leaving  the  ale-house  porch,  and  he 
hoped  if  he  could  win  over  those  whom  he 
would  see  next,  Gammer  Grove  might  be 
freed  from  any  further  molestation.  It  was  a 
small  farm  at  the  further  end  of  the  village, 
and  the  three  grown-up  sons  who  did  all  the 
work  of  the  place  were  the  most  successful  at 
the  running,  wrestling,  and  vaulting  matches 
for  miles  around.  This  gave  them  no  incon- 
siderable influence  among  their  compeers  of 
the  village. 

But  Master  Saxby's  hopes  on  this  score  were 
dashed  to  the  ground  as  soon  as  he  reached 
the  farm-house  door. 

"  Here  is  Squire  Saxby  himself.  Now,  Job, 
go  and  fetch  the  two  chickens ! "  exclaimed 
the  farmer's  wife  before  a  word  of  greeting 
could  be  exchanged. 

"How  now,  dame,  what  is  the  matter?" 
asked  Master  Saxby,  stepping  into  the  clay- 


Trying  the  Witch.  129 

floored  keeping-room,  whither  she  led  the 
way. 

"  Two  of  my  best  fowls,  Master  Saxby,  have 
been  killed  in  the  night,  and  no  mortal  hand 
has  touched  them,  for  not  a  feather  has  been 
ruffled  ;  they've  just  dropped  dead  from  the 
perch  like  stones." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  began  Master  Saxby. 

"  Sorry ! "  interrupted  the  dame,  seizing  the 
chickens  as  her  youngest  son  brought  them 
in.  "  Look  here,  don't  that  look  like  witch's 
work?"  she  said,  turning  them  over  in  her 
hand  ;  "  fine,  plump  young  things,  as  brisk  as 
any  of  them  when  I  fed  them  last  night,  and 
stone  dead  in  the  hen-house  this  morning." 

"  They  must  have  been  taken  with  the 
cramp  or  the  pip,"  ventured  her  visitor. 

"  The  cramp  ! "  scornfully  exclaimed  the  an- 
gry dame.  "  I  shall  begin  to  think  the  village 
is  right,  and  that  you  are  under  the  old  witch's 
spells.  But,  squire,"  she  said,  suddenly  chang- 
ing her  tone,  "  this  can't  go  on.  It  must  n't 
be  said  we  are  harboring  a  witch  here  in  Great 
Kimble,  that  has  always  been  loyal  to  Church 
and  king,  although  there  have  been  sectaries 
and  Puritans  among  us." 

"Well,  dame,  but  I  think—" 

"  Squire  Saxby,  it  wont  do  to  think  now ; 


130  SAXBY. 

you  must  do  something  to  get  rid  of  that  old 
witch,  Gammer  Grove.  We  all  knew  she  was 
a  sectary  and  a  Brownist  long  ago,  and  no 
doubt  they  are  all  in  league  with  the  Evil 
One ;  but  now  we  can  prove  it  against  her, 
and  she  must  leave  Great  Kimble." 

"  But — but  if  we  drive  the  poor  old  woman 
away  from  here,  where  is  she  to  go  ?  "  asked 
Master  Saxby. 

"  O,  never  fear  but  the  devil  will  take  care 
of  his  own.  But  go  from  here  she  must," 
concluded  the  farmer's  wife. 

"  Very  well,  dame,  bring  your  complaint  be- 
fore me,  in  proper  form,  next  Tuesday,  and  I 
will  see  what  the  law  says  about  it,"  answered 
her  visitor ;  for  he  knew  it  would  be  useless  to 
attempt  arguing  with  an  angry  woman,  and  he 
bade  her  good-morning,  and  turned  his  steps 
homeward. 

He  had  promised  to  pay  Master  Hampden 
a  visit  on  Sunday,  for  the  proscribed  minister 
was  to  be  there  with  a  few  other  friends,  and 
a  private  service  was  to  be  held  among  them- 
selves in  the  library,  and  so  if  it  was  necessary 
he  could  talk  over  this  affair  of  Gammer  Grove 
with  them  afterward  ;  for  he  feared  she  would 
be  obliged  to  leave  the  village,  for  a  time  at 
least,  until  this  affair  had  blown  over. 


Trying  the  Witch.  131 

So,  thinking  over  this  compromise,  and  won- 
dering whether  she  would  be  willing  to  sell 
him  her  cottage  and  little  bit  of  land,  which 
adjoined  his  own,  he  took  his  way  to  Hamp- 
den  on  Sunday  morning,  meeting  on  his  way 
several  people  going  to  church  who  had  not 
been  there  lately.  He  exchanged  a  friendly 
smile  and  greeting  with  most  of  them,  but 
quite  failed  to  detect  how  curiously  some  of 
them  looked  at  him  as  they  passed.  The  fact 
was,  this  walk  to  Hampden  to-day,  after  the 
stir  there  had  been  made  about  people  going 
to  their  own  parish  church,  was  taken  as  a 
convincing  proof  of  his  being  bewitched,  and 
some  few,  remembering  his  leaning  to  and  pro- 
tection of  the  sectaries  years  before,  went  so 
far  as  to  say  that  the  squire  was  in  league  with 
the  witch,  and  would  never  do  any  thing  to 
rid  them  of  her  presence. 

In  happy  ignorance  of  all  these  surmises 
Master  Saxby  spent  a  pleasant  and  profitable 
Sunday  with  Master  Hampden,  and  before  he 
left  a  plan  was  discussed  for  saving  Gammer 
Grove,  and  the  villagers  too,  if  she  would  only 
consent  to  adopt  it,  and  Master  Saxby  was  re- 
turning home  feeling  that  that  trouble  at  least 
was  at  an  end. 

But  as  he  reached  the  village  green,  which 
9 


132  SAXBY. 

he  had  to  pass  on  his  way,  he  saw  a  crowd" 
gathered  round  the  horse-pond  at  one  corner. 
There  was  a  momentary  lull  in  the  excitement 
that  seemed  to  prevail  as  he  first  turned  out 
of  the  lane,  but  the  next  minute  hoarse  voices 
were  calling,  "  Duck  her  again,  Hodge  !  Give 
the  old  witch  another  taste ! "  Then  followed 
a  splash  and  brutal  shouts  of  laughter,  in  the 
midst  of  which  Master  Saxby  pushed  his  way 
in  among  them  to  see  what  was  going  on. 

"  Here 's  another  Puritan !  another  Puritan  ! " 
shouted  two  or  three  half-drunken  voices,  and 
Roger  Saxby  himself,  too  tipsy  and  stupid  to 
recognize  his  father,  called  out,  "  Pitch  him  in 
after  the  old  witch.  We've  done  for  Gammer 
Grove,  and  we'll  serve  all  Puritans  alike." 

"  Go  home,  sir,  this  moment !  Is  this  what 
you  learn  from  the  king's  '  Sport  Book  ?'"  and 
Master  Saxby  spoke  in  such  a  tone  of  com- 
mand that  the  drunken,  silly  crowd  fell  back, 
and  Roger  recovered  himself  sufficiently  to 
slink  away  and  stagger  homeward. 

To  rescue  Gammer  Grove,  and  send  one  of 
the  crowd  for  help  from  the  ale-house,  was  the 
work  of  a  very  few  minutes;  but  it  was  too 
late  to  be  of  any  use.  The  poor  old  woman 
was  dead  before  she  was  taken  out  of  the 
water,  and  Master  Saxby  could  with  difficulty 


rying  the    Witch. 


Trying  the  Witch.  135 

get  any  one  to  carry  her  away  from  the  edge 
of  the  pond  to  the  solitude  of  her  own  cot- 
tage ;  for  no  one  cared  to  touch  her  now  she 
was  dead,  although  they  had  been  ready  enough 
to  drag  her  from  her  home  an  hour  before. 

Before  they  began  to  disperse  Master  Saxby 
informed  them  that  a  coroner's  inquest  would 
be  held  on  the  poor  old  woman,  and  some  of 
them  would  probably  be  charged  with  murder, 
a  threat  sufficient  to  sober  one  or  two  among 
them,  who  forthwith  began  protesting  they 
had  only  done  as  Dame  Saxby  bade  them — 
there  was  no  other  way  of  getting  rid  of  the 
old  witch.  Master  Saxby  did  not  pay  much 
heed  to  these  protestations  now,  but  he  went 
home  feeling  sad  enough  for  the  share  Roger 
had  taken  in  this  cruel  business. 


136  SAX  BY. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  PILGRIM   FATHERS. 

inquiry  into  the  death  of  Gammer 
-1-  Grove  was  not  very  satisfactory  in  its  re- 
sult. The  belief  in  witchcraft  was  so  general 
in  those  days,  and  public  opinion  in  Great 
Kimble  had  been  so  deeply  aroused  against 
the  poor  old  woman,  that  her  murder  was  held 
to  be  almost  justifiable,  although  the  coroner 
warned  the  accused  that  they  ought  to  have 
given  notice  to  the  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
proceeded  against  the  deceased  in  due  form. 
There  was  also  another  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  justice  being  done.  Half  a  dozen  of  the 
ringleaders  in  the  crowd  had  been  arrested, 
but  every  body  was  so  tipsy  before  the  out- 
rage had  even  been  thought  of  that  no  one 
could  say  who  had  proposed  it,  or  who  had 
actually  caused  her  death.  They  were  half 
ashamed  of  the  cowardly  deed  now,  and  cer- 
tainly, but  for  the  Church  ales  they  had  been 
drinking  it  would  never  have  been  perpetrated. 
But  though  little  satisfaction  was  given  for 
poor  old  Gammer  Grove,  a  great  deal  of  ill- 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  137 

feeling  was  roused  against  her  friend,  Master 
Saxby,  for  taking  up  her  case  so  warmly ;  and 
whispers  were  rife  about  his  being  under  witch- 
spells,  and  more  than  half  a  Brownist,  and  in 
league  with  the  witch.  Dame  Saxby,  too, 
found  her  position  any  thing  but  an  enviable 
one,  for  her  neighbors  looked  upon  her  with 
sly  suspicion,  as  having  roused  the  persecu- 
tion against  Gammer  Grove,  and  then  turned 
against  them  for  having  carried  out  her  wishes 
only  too  well  in  getting  rid  of  the  old  woman ; 
for  Dame  Saxby,  when  she  heard  of  the  death, 
was  most  vehement  in  denouncing  its  cruelty, 
reproaching  Roger  for  his  share  in  it  as  strong- 
ly as  her  husband  reproached  her  for  having 
first  set  the  rumor  afloat  that  the  old  woman 
was  a  witch. 

And  so  the  winter  of  1619  passed  slowly 
away,  bringing  but  one  letter  from  Harry,  just 
after  he  reached  Prague.  News  traveled  slow- 
ly and  uncertainly  in  those  days,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  middle  of  February,  1620,  that 
news  reached  Great  Kimble  of  the  crowning  of 
the  king's  son-in-law  as  king  of  Bohemia  and 
head  of  the  Protestant  cause  in  Germany,  and 
with  it  came  news  of  his  utter  defeat  at  the 
battle  of  Prague,  and  that  the  Palatinate,  as 
well  as  Bohemia,  was  wrested  from  his  grasp. 


138  SAXBY. 

The  news  ran  th'rough  England  like  an  elec- 
tric shock,  and  showed  how  deeply  rooted  was 
Protestantism  in  the  heart  of  the  nation ;  for 
the  murmurs  of  discontent  against  the  king's 
policy  ran  so  high  that,  in  deference  to  this, 
James  was  obliged  to  promise  to  summon  an- 
other Parliament,  and  Master  John  Hampden 
was  chosen  to  share  the  danger  of  those  who 
were  determined  to  compel  the  king  to  do 
something  to  help  the  Protestant  cause  on  the 
continent. 

There  was  a  stir  and  bustle  in  many  an 
English  household  that  spring,  for  hundreds 
of  gentlemen  were  following  Harry  Saxby's 
noble  example,  and,  without  waiting  for  the 
king's  tardy  movements,  were  going  at  their 
own  expense  to  join  in  the  struggle  for  relig- 
ious liberty. 

In  this  universal  unrest  Master  Saxby  felt 
that  he  could  not  stay  at  Great  Kimble.  Anx- 
iety to  know  the  fate  of  his  dearly-loved  son 
made  him  long  to  be  in  London,  where  he 
might  meet  some  one  who  had  seen  him  or 
fought  by  his  side ;  and  so,  when  the  affairs  of 
the  farm  were  set  in  order  so  that  they  might  be 
left  to  Roger's  management  for  a  few  months, 
Master  Saxby,  with  his  wife  and  younger  son, 
removed  to  London  and  took  lodgings  in  a 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  139 

pleasant  house  overlooking  the  Thames  and 
within  easy  reach  of  Master  Milton's,  whom  he 
often  visited  of  an  evening  when  the  scriv- 
ener's work  was  over. 

Among  the  Puritan  friends  meeting  at  Mas- 
ter Milton's  he  heard  that  a  vessel  was  to  sail 
from  London  in  July,  carrying  some  emigrants 
who  were  to  join  their  friends  from  the  Low- 
lands at  Southampton.  Shortly  afterward  Mas- 
ter Saxby  went  to  look  over  the  "  Mayflower," 
as  the  little  vessel  was  called.  Various  places 
had  been  suggested  to  the  travelers  as  their  fu- 
ture home  ;  the  Prince  of  Orange  wishing  them 
to  join  the  Dutch  settlement  of  Amsterdam 
merchants,  on  the  River  Hudson.  But  ar- 
rangements had  now  been  entered  into  with 
the  Virginia  Company  for  their  settlement  at 
a  place  sufficiently  remote  from  those  planta- 
tions, that  the  religious  difference  between  the 
settlers  should  not  be  a  cause  of  quarrel,  and 
yet  that  they  should  still  be  under  the  British 
crown ;  as  one  of  those  who  had  been  in  the 
Lowlands,  and  was  about  to  sail  with  the  little 
company  of  emigrants,  said  to  Master  Saxby. 

"  It  is  grievous  to  us  to  live  from  under  the 
protection  of  the  State  of  England,  for  we  are 
likely  to  lose  our  language  and  our  very  name 
of  English.  In  Holland,  too,  we  could  do  but 


140  SAXBY. 

little  good,  for  we  could  never  persuade  them 
to  reform  the  Sabbath,  while  our  children 
could  never  be  educated  as  we  ourselves  had 
been  ;  and  so,  if  God  be  pleased  to  discover 
some  place  unto  us  in  America,  we  may  show 
our  countrymen,  no  less  burdened  than  our- 
selves, where  they  may  live,  and,  being  free 
from  antichristian  bondage,  may  keep  their 
names  and  nation,  and  not  only  be  a  means  to 
enlarge  the  dominions  of  the  English  State, 
.but  the  Church  of  Christ  also." 

"Ah,  ah,  and  many,  I  doubt  not,  will  follow 
your  brave  example,"  exclaimed  Master  Saxby. 
"  I  would  that  I  could  go  with  you,"  he  added 
the  next  minute,  with  something  of  a  sigh  as 
lie  thought  of  Harry  righting  in  the  German 
war,  and  Roger,  who  had  of  late  been  such  a 
source  of  anxiety  to  him. 

A  letter  had  come  from  Harry  lately,  telling 
of  his  escape  after  the  battle  of  Prague,  but  no 
word  of  his  probable  return ;  and  Roger,  he 
feared,  cared  less  for  the  Sabbath  than  ever, 
unless  it  was  as  a  day  of  rioting  and  drunken- 
ness. It  was  well  that  Master  Saxby  had  the 
affairs  of  these  emigrants  to  interest  himself 
in,  and  that  many  of  them  were  poor — almost 
ruined  through  the  fines  that  had  been  imposed 
upon  them — making  them  all  the  more  Mas- 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  141 

ter  Saxby's  friends ;  many  a  gift  which  he 
thought  might  be  useful  to  them  on  the  voy- 
age, or  when  they  reached  the  strange,  deso- 
late shores  of  America,  was  added  to  their 
slender  store  through  Master  Saxby's  kindness. 
He  would  go  with  them  to  Southampton, 
too,  and  see  his  old  friend,  Robert  Cushman, 
and  his  family,  who  were  coming  from  Holland 
in  the  "  Speedwell,"  as  the  two  vessels  were 
to  sail  to  America  in  company.  It  was  near 
the  end  of  July,  1620,  that  the  "  Mayflower  " 
sailed  from  London  with  its  party  of  emi- 
grants and  a  few  friends  who  wished  to  see  the 
whole  party  depart  from  Southampton.  The 
"  Speedwell "  had  not  reached  its  destina- 
tion when  the  London  party  got  there,  but 
in  a  day  or  two  she  arrived  safely  from  her 
voyage  across  the  sea.  Then  it  was  found  that 
there  were  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
sail  in  the  two  vessels.  Robert  Cushman  was 
of  the  number,  and  right  glad  he  was  to  see 
Master  Saxby  and  two  or  three  other  friends 
who  had  come  to  bid  them  a  last  farewell. 

"  You  will  not  cast  in  your  lot  with  us  ?  " 
said  Cushman,  grasping  his  friend's  hand,  as 
they  stood  on  the  shore  watching  the  sunlit 
waves  as  they  danced  and  rippled  round  the 
prow  of  the  little  vessel. 


142  SAXBY. 

"  Not  now,  not  now,  friend  ;  but  I  may  come 
by  and  by.  If  it  were  not  for  the  Saxby  lands 
I  know  not  whether  I  would  not  join  your 
company  or  go  to  the  German  war  and  fight 
beside  my  son.  You  have  brought  me  no 
tidings  of  him,"  added  Master  Saxby ;  for, 
somehow,  he  had  thought  that  coming  from 
beyond  the  sea,  these  friends  must  have  heard 
of  Harry,  and  he  had  indulged  the  hope  that, 
coming  to  Southampton,  he  should  surely  see 
some  one  who  had  seen  him  lately. 

But  Master  Cushman  shook  his  head.  "  God 
grant  we  may  make  another  England  beyond 
the  sea,  where  there  shall  be  no  more  religious 
wars,"  he  said,  and  then  he  added  more  brisk- 
ly, "  But,  my  friend,  why  should  your  land  be 
as  a  fetter  binding  you  to  bondage  ?  Many 
among  us  had  lands  and  goodly  houses  and 
honorable  names,  but  we  have  forsaken  all  for 
that  Christian  liberty  that  is  denied  to  us 
here." 

"  Ah,  ah,  but  you  know  not  all  concerning 
our  Saxby  lands,"  replied  his  friend  ;  for,  some- 
how, his  superstitious  fears  concerning  the 
threatened  curse  had  increased  since  the  death 
of  poor  old  Gammer  Grove,  though  why  he 
should  connect  the  one  with  the  other  it  was 
hard  to  say. 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  143 

It  was  arranged  that  a  parting  service  should 
be  held  just  before  the  vessels  finally  sailed, 
and  at  that  meeting  a  letter,  or,  rather,  an  ad- 
dress, should  be  read  that  had  been  given  to 
some  of  them  just  before  leaving  Leyden  by 
their  minister,  Mr.  Robinson,  already  known 
as  the  "  Father  of  the  Independents,"  although 
he  did  not  follow  entirely  the  doctrine  of 
Brown,  whose  name  was  properly  given  to  the 
sect. 

Master  Saxby  hardly  knew  what  to  do  about 
going  to  this  meeting,  for  his  leaning  toward 
"  sectaries,"  who  were  looked  upon  askance 
even  by  the  Puritans  of  the  Church,  had  already 
got  him  into  such  ill  odor  among  his  friends  at 
home  that  he  had  resolved  to  keep  more  aloof 
from  them  in  future.  But  his  friendship  for 
Cushman  and  one  or  two  others  of  the  party 
overcame  his  timidity  at  last,  and  right  glad 
he  was  afterward  ;  for,  as  he  told  Master  Mil- 
ton and  his  friends  when  he  returned  to  Lon- 
don, he  would  not  have  missed  hearing  Rob- 
inson's address  for  any  thing,  sectary  though 
he  might  be. 

When  the  little  company  of  pilgrims  and 
their  few  friends  were  gathered  together  and 
prayer  had  been  offered,  one  of  the  eldest  of 
them  —a  tall,  noble-looking  man — stood  up  and 


144  SAXBY. 

read,  amid  breathless  silence,  the  words  of  the 
minister  who,  like  themselves,  had  shared  per- 
secution and  tasted  of  every  danger  and  hard- 
ship that  beset  them  while  presiding  over  their 
little  Church  in  Holland. 

"  Brethren,  we  are  now  quickly  to  part  from 
one  another,  and  whether  I  may  ever  live  to 
see  your  faces  on  earth  any  more  the  God  of 
heaven  only  knows.  But  whether  the  Lord 
has  appointed  that  or  no,  I  charge  you  before 
God  and  his  blessed  angels  that  you  follow  me 
no  further  than  you  have  seen  me  follow  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  If  God  reveal  any  thing  to  you  by  any 
other  instrument  of  his,  be  as  ready  to  receive 
it  as  ever  you  were  to  receive  any  truth  by  my 
ministry ;  for  I  am  verily  persuaded  the  Lord 
has  more  truth  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his 
holy  word. 

"  For  my  part,  I  cannot  sufficiently  bewail 
the  condition  of  the  Reformed  Churches  who 
are  come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  will  go  at 
present  no  further  than  the  instruments  of  their 
reformation.  The  Lutherans  cannot  be  drawn 
to  go  beyond  what  Luther  saw.  Whatever 
part  of  his  will  our  God  has  revealed  to  Cal- 
vrh,  they  will  rather  die  than  embrace  it ;  and 
the  Calvinists,  you  see,  stick  fast  where  they 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  145 

were  left  by  that  great  man  of  God,  who  yet 
saw  not  all  things. 

"  This  is  a  misery  much  to  be  lamented,  for 
though  they  were  burning  and  shining  lights 
in  their  times,  yet  they  penetrated  not  into  the 
whole  counsel  of  God,  but  were  they  now  liv- 
ing would  be  as  willing  to  embrace  further  light 
as  that  which  they  first  received.  I  beseech 
you  remember  it  as  an  article  of  your  Church 
covenant  that  you  be  ready  to  receive  what- 
ever truth  shall  be  made  known  to  you  from 
the  written  word  of  God. 

"  But  I  must  here  withal  exhort  you  to  take 
heed  what  ye  receive  as  truth  ;  examine  it, 
consider  it,  and  compare  it  with  other  Script- 
ures of  truth  before  you  receive  it ;  for  it  is 
not  possible  the  Christian  world  should  come 
so  lately  out  of  such  thick  antichristian  dark- 
ness and  that  perfection  of  knowledge  should 
break  forth  at  once." 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  address  a  chapter 
from  God's  word  was  read  and  a  suitable 
prayer  offered,  but  Master  Saxby  was  thinking 
little  of  either.  The  wonderful  address  of  this 
sectary,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  England, 
had  so  impressed  him  that  he  could  give  little 
thought  to  any  thing  else.  The  broad,  Chris- 
tian liberality  that  was  shown  in  exhorting  his 


146  SAXBY. 

flock  to  receive  the  truth  from  any  one  who 
could  teach  them,  so  different  from  any  thing 
he  had  ever  heard  before,  made  him  almost 
forget  where  he  was  until  there  was  a  little 
stir  in  the  congregation,  and  then,  as  they  rose 
to  separate,  he  looked  round  upon  the  little 
party  of  pilgrims,  whose  souls  had  been  fed 
and  nourished  on  such  strong  meat  as  this 
minister  Robinson  could  doubtless  give  them, 
and  truly  they  looked  no  unworthy  disciples. 

Brave,  resolute,  noble-looking  men  they  were, 
and  women  too,  worthy  to  be  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  a  new,  free,  brave  race.  These 
were  no  puling,  miserable,  discontented  sect, 
but  the  very  flower  of  Englishmen,  with  all 
the  grand  old  English  virtues,  aided  by  noble 
birth  and  gentle  breeding  in  many  cases,  and 
strengthened  and  braced  by  enduring  persecu- 
tion and  poverty  for  the  sake  of  that  liberty 
they  held  more  dear  than  life. 

The  5th  of  August  saw  the  two  vessels  sail 
from  bright  Southampton  bay  amid  the  prayers 
of  the  little  company  gathered  on  the  shore  to 
see  the  last  of  the  white  sails  as  a  fair  wind 
carried  them  down  the  Channel.* 

Then  Master  Saxby  turned  his  steps  toward 
London  once  more,  to  tell  his  friend  Milton, 
*  See  Frontispiece. 


Tlie  Pilgrim  Fathers.  147 

and  Master  Gataker,  and  other  Puritan  friends, 
who  could  only  half  believe  in  the  Christianity 
of  these  sectaries,  of  the  wonderful  address  of 
this  Independent  minister  which  he  had  heard 
at  Southampton.  But  good  men  were  slow 
to  believe  in  the  goodness  of  any  thing  out- 
side the  Church  in  those  days,  even  though 
they  might  differ  from  it  in  many  points,  both 
as  to  doctrine  and  ritual ;  still,  the  sin  of  schism 
was  to  them  so  awful  that  they  were  willing  to 
endure  any  thing  rather  than  be  guilty  of  what 
they  held  these  Independents  to  have  commit- 
ted. So  Master  Gataker  could  only  shake  his 
head  and  deplore  that  so  many  good  men 
should  leave  the  Church  of  England  instead  of 
staying  within  her  pale  and  striving  for  a  fur- 
ther reform  in  her  liturgy  and  services. 

"  I  have  heard  it  was  what  many  said  about 
Luther  ;  and  even  his  first  thoughts  were  not 
that  he  would  leave  the  corrupt  Romish 
Church,  but  reform  it,"  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  Ah,  but  it  was  too  corrupt,"  said  Master 
Milton,  "  and  would  not  be  reformed." 

"  Well,  well,  I  say  not  that  our  Church  is 
as  the  Church  of  Rome,  but  will  she  cast  aside 
what  still  savors  too  much  of  Papistry  to  please 
our  Protestant  stomachs  ?"  said  Master  Saxby. 

"  I  hope  so.     I  hope  to  see  the  day  when 


148  SAXBY. 

every  vestige  of  the  old   Popish  service  shall 
be  cast  away." 

"  Many  fear  that  day  will  never  dawn,  and 
in  despair  of  this  have  separated  themselves 
from  us,  as  Luther  did  from  his  Church,"  said 
Master  Saxby,  whose  leaning  to  sectaries  was 
decidedly  stronger  than  ever  since  his  visit  to 
Southampton. 

The  ground  of  this  argument  was  gone  over 
by  these  friends,  but  they  failed  to  convince 
each  other,  although  they  still  remained" 
friends ;  for  no  one  could  help  liking  kindly 
Master  Saxby,  whether  they  agreed  with  his 
opinions  or  not. 


Another  Citation  from  the  BisJiop.       149 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ANOTHER   CITATION   FROM   THE  BISHOP. 

MASTER  SAXBY  spent  a  good  deal  of 
his  time  in  Paul's  Walk  —  or  Duke 
Humphrey's  Walk — as  the  principal  aisle  in 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  was  called.  It  was  the 
most  frequented  promenade  in  the  city,  both 
for  idlers  and  men  of  business.  Here  lawyers 
would  meet  their  clients,  fashionable  people 
their  friends,  to  exchange  the  news  of  the  day  ; 
and  the  pillars  of  the  sacred  pile  served  as  ad- 
vertisement sheets,  in  the  absence  of  newspa- 
pers, for  servants  wanting  places  and  masters 
wanting  servants. 

Here  every  scrap  of  news  concerning  the 
struggle  now  going  on  in  Germany  was  at  once 
circulated ;  but  little  satisfaction,  however, 
could  Master  Saxby  glean  from  any  thing  he 
heard,  and  the  hope  of  seeing  Harry  again 
shortly  grew  less  day  by  day,  although  he 
contrived  to  send  more  than  one  letter  to  him 
urging  him  to  come  home  and  take  the  man- 
agement of  the  farm  into  his  own  hands. 

At  last  he  grew  tired  of  the  inaction  and 
10 


150  SAXBY. 

weary  waiting  for  news  that  never  came — news 
of  Harry  himself —for  beyond  a  few  hastily- 
penned  lines  saying  he  had  escaped  after  the 
battle  of  Prague,  no  word  had  come  to  cheer 
the  anxious  father  and  mother.  So  one  day, 
about  a  month  after  his  return  from  South- 
ampton, when  he  had  spent  nearly  the  whole 
day  in  wandering  up  and  down  Paul's  Walk 
and  among  the  booksellers'  shops  in  St.  Paul's 
Church-yard,  he  returned  home,  and  his  first 
words  almost  made  Dame  Saxby  jump  for  joy. 

"  Moll,  we  must  go  back  to  Great  Kimble ; 
we  must  go  back  in  time  for  harvest,"  he  said 
with  a  deep  yawn. 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure  ;  I  don't  know  what  Roger 
will  do  without  us  in  the  busy  season,"  said 
Dame  Saxby,  who  was  heartily  tired  of  these 
pent-up  London  lodgings,  and  she  bustled 
about  to  get  her  husband's  supper  with  re- 
newed vigor  at  the  thought  of  so  soon  going 
back  to  their  own  bright  country  home. 

"  But,  father,  we  cannot  go  yet — not  for  a 
fortnight  at  least — for  you  promised  Master 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  Mistress  Bourchier  you 
would  go  to  their  wedding,"  said  Larry,  who 
was  by  no  means  tired  of  London  yet. 

"  True,  my  lad,  I  had  forgotten  that.  When 
is  the  wedding  to  be,  dame  ?  "  he  asked. 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.      151 

"  The  twentieth  of  this  month.  We  might 
stay  and  see  the  young  couple  married  and 
begin  our  journey  the  same  day." 

"  Master  Cromwell  will  journey  to  Hunting- 
don with  Mistress  Elizabeth  as  soon  as  the 
wedding  is  over,"  said  Larry. 

"  Ah,  ah,  you  have  heard  all  the  news,  I 
trow,"  said  his  father. 

"  Yes,  I  know  that  Master  Cromwell  has  got 
six  sisters,  and  those  who  are  not  married  are 
to  live  with  him  and  his  wife  and  mother," 
said  Larry. 

So  it  was  settled  that  they  should  go  to  St. 
Giles'  Church,  Cripplegate,  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, and  then,  without  waiting  for  the  wed- 
ding-feast, begin  their  journey  back  to  Buck- 
inghamshire at  once  ;  for  now  that  he  had 
once  decided  to  go  home  again,  Master  Saxby 
was  impatient  to  get  there.  He  was  not  satis- 
fied with  the  last  account  he  had  heard  of 
Roger,  and  he  was  anxious  to  see  his  friend, 
Master  Hampden,  again;  for  the  much-talked- 
of  Parliament  had  not  assembled  yet,  although 
people  were  grumbling  more  loudly  than  ever 
about  the  oppressive  monopolies  and  taxes, 
the  Spanish  match  of  Prince  Charles,  and  the 
backwardness  of  the  king  in  helping  the  Ger- 
man Protestant  cause. 


152  SAXBY. 

But  if  Master  Saxby  was  glad  to  be  among 
his  own  fields  and  farm-buildings,  his  wife  was 
ten  times  more  glad  to  get  back  to  her  dairy 
and  poultry,  and  take  up  the  scolding  of  her 
serving  maids  again  ;  and  Larry,  though  he 
had  enjoyed  visiting  the  various  sights  of  Lon- 
don in  company  with  his  new  friend,  young 
John  Milton,  and  his  father,  still  even  he 
seemed  glad  to  get  back  to  his  brother  and  all 
the  household  pets.  Dame  Saxby  hoped  that 
during  their  long  stay  in  London  Gammer 
Grove  had  been  forgotten  by  their  neighbors, 
and  that  she  should  never  hear  the  old  wom- 
an's name  again. 

The  affairs  of  the  farm  had  not  prospered 
under  Roger's  management,  and  for  the  first 
few  weeks  Master  Saxby 's  time  was  fully  taken 
up  with  setting  things  right,  as  far  as  that 
could  be  done.  But  when  the  busy  season 
was  over  he  went  at  once  to  see  his  friend 
Master  John  Hampden,  and  hear  whether  any 
further  steps  had  been  taken  to  call  a  Parlia- 
ment together. 

Dame  Saxby  had  already  paid  young  Dame 
Hampden  a  visit,  for  a  baby  had  come  to 
brighten  their  stately  home  while  the  Saxbies 
were  in  London,  and  Dame  Saxby  had  chafed 
sorely  when  she  heard  the  news  that  she  was 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.       153 

not  at  hand  to  give  her  advice  and  help  at  the 
time. 

Now  she  thought  Master  Hampden  would 
surely  be  content  to  let  the  king's  affairs  alone, 
and  not  run  into  such  danger  as  Master  Pym 
had  incurred  at  the  close  of  the  last  Parlia- 
ment, and  she  told  the  young  matron  the 
whole  story  of  his  imprisonment,  as  she  had 
heard  it  from  Dame  Milton. 

But,  to  her  surprise,  the  young  mother, 
though  she  stooped  to  kiss  her  baby  with  a 
look  of  more  tender  love  in  her  eyes,  said 
quite  calmly,  "  John  and  I  have  talked  it  all 
over,  dame,  and  I  have  promised  never  to 
hold  him  back  from  what  he  sees  to  be  his 
duty  by  any  weak  fears  of  mine." 

"  Weak  fears,"  repeated  Dame  Saxby ;  "  but, 
my  dear  Bessie,  you  ought  to  keep  your  hus- 
band out  of  such  danger  for  your  child's  sake, 
if  not  for  your  own." 

"  Nay,  but,  dame,  do  not  think  I  am  forget- 
ful of  my  little  Bessie,  if  I  keep  not  my  hus- 
band back  from  what  he  deems  it  his  duty  to 
do,"  said  the  young  mother,  with  a  quiver  in 
her  voice,  and  Dame  Saxby  saw  that  it  was 
not  so  easy  after  all  for  her  to  send  her  hus- 
band on  such  a  dangerous  errand  as  attending 
Parliament  threatened  to  be. 


1 54  SAXBY. 

But  before  this  much-talked-of  Parliament 
assembled  Master  Saxby  was  startled  by  a 
visit  from  Robert  Cushman,  whom  he  had  seen 
sail  from  Southampton  in  the  "  Mayflower." 
It  was  a  tale  of  disaster  the  brave  man  had  to 
tell,  and  filled  the  friends  with  anxious  fears 
and  forebodings  for  the  safety  of  the  pilgrims 
who  had  set  forth  once  more  in  search  of  a 
new  home. 

The  "  Mayflower  "  and  "  Speedwell,"  carry- 
ing the  pilgrims  from  Leyden,  had  kept  to- 
gether ;  but  before  proceeding  far  on  their 
journey  it  was  found  necessary  for  the  "  Speed- 
well "  to  put  back  for  repairs,  and  they  ran  the 
vessels  into  Dartmouth.  After  being  detained 
here  some  days  they  put  to  sea  again,  some- 
what disheartened  at  the  delay,  but  still  hop- 
ing to  reach  their  destination  before  winter  set 
in.  They  ran  about  a  hundred  leagues,  losing 
sight  of  the  white  cliffs  of  their  dear  native  land, 
when  the  "  Speedwell "  sprang  another  leak, 
and  they  were  again  compelled  to  put  back. 
This  time  they  came  into  Plymouth,  where, 
upon  examination,  the  "  Speedwell  "  was  found 
to  be  unseaworthy,  and  the  captain  refused  to 
venture  upon  the  voyage  again. 

By  these  delays  a  month  was  lost — precious 
time  that  the  pilgrims  could  ill  afford  to  lose, 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.       155 

now  that  winter  was  approaching,  and  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  climate  of  the  "  New  En- 
gland "  they  were  to  colonize.  But  these 
were  not  the  men  to  be  turned  from  their 
purpose  by  difficulties  or  disappointments, 
and  so  many  as  the  "  Mayflower  "  could  with 
safety  convey  resolved  to  go ;  and  only  eight- 
een out  of  the  hundred  and  twenty  were  left 
behind.  The  rest  sailed  from  Plymouth  the 
fourth  of  September,  leaving  their  friends  in 
no  small  anxiety  for  their  safety  and  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  the  venture. 

Robert  Cushman  had  lingered  at  Plymouth 
for  some  time  to  hear  if  any  further  disaster 
befell  the  pilgrims,  or  any  homeward-bound 
ship  had  brought  news  of  the  little  vessel;  but 
nothing  had  been  heard  of  them  since  the  day 
they  sailed,  and  they  must  be  content  to  wait 
until  tidings  reached  them  from  the  far-off 
unknown  land  to  which  they  had  gone. 
Months  or  even  a  year  might  elapse  before 
news  could  reach  them,  for  the  "  Mayflower  " 
was  not  to  return  at  once ;  and  unless  the 
Virginia  Company  should  hear  of  these  new 
settlers  from  those  who  were  out  there,  the 
prospect  of  which  was  very  remote,  for  it  had 
been  purposely  arranged,  on  account  of  the 
religious  differences  known  to  exist  between 


1 56  SAXBY. 

them,  that  the  two  colonies  should  be  entirely 
separated,  and  one  placed  at  some  distance 
from  the  other. 

It  seemed  that  this  winter  was  to  be  full 
of  surprises,  for  preparations  had  hardly  com- 
menced for  securing  fit  members  for  the  com- 
ing Parliament,  which  was  at  length  to  meet 
in  March,  1621,  when  a  letter  reached  Master 
Saxby  from  Harry,  telling  his  father  of  his 
marriage ;  and,  as  though  this  in  itself  was  not 
sufficient  surprise,  he  had  married  a  French 
lady,  who,  with  her  family,  had  been  driven 
from  her  ancestral  home  in  the  south  of 
France  by  the  cruel  persecution  still  being 
carried  on  against  the  Huguenots,  as  the 
French  Protestants  were  called.  Harry  took 
care  to  explain  that  his  wife  was  a  Protestant, 
and  a  most  devoted  Christian,  as  well  as  a 
gentle,  amiable,  tender  wife,  who  had  already 
done  much  to  alleviate  the  hardship  of  his 
soldier  life.  His  mother  forgot  or  overlooked 
all  this,  and  the  bare  fact  that  he  had  married 
a  stranger  and  a  French  woman  made  her  for- 
get even  her  love  for  him  for  the  time,  and 
she  declared  she  would  never  own  him — never 
see  him  again — and  the  Saxby  lands  should 
never  be  given  to  the  children  of  this  French- 
woman. All  this,  and  a  great  deal  more,  did 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.       157 

Dame  Saxby  say  in  her  passion,  and  Roger 
took  care  to  keep  his  mother's  anger  from 
abating  by  words  dropped  now  and  then 
about  the  land  passing  into  the  hands  of  for- 
eigners by  and  by.  He  hoped  by  this  means 
to  induce  his  father  to  alter  the  disposition  of 
the  property ;  for  although  it  had  come  down 
from  the  father  to  the  eldest  son  for  genera- 
tions, it  was  not  strictly  entailed,  and  Master 
Saxby  could  cut  off  his  elder  son  and  leave  it 
to  Roger  if  he  pleased.  From  this  time  Roger 
made  up  his  mind  that  this  should  be  done, 
and  he  set  himself  to  please  his  father  as  stu- 
diously as  he  could.  Now  that  there  was  little 
fear  of  the  land  ever  becoming  the  property  of 
his  elder  brother  he  developed  an  aptitude  in 
the  care  and  management  of  it  quite  unknown 
before,  and  Master  Saxby  could  but  feel 
pleased  and  gratified,  more  especially  as 
Roger  went  less  frequently  to  the  Sunday 
revels  at  the  ale-house  than  he  formerly  did. 
It  comforted  him  a  little  for  the  disappoint- 
ment he  felt  about  Harry — for  this  marriage 
had  disappointed  him,  and  crossed  more  than 
one  fondly-cherished  plan  which  he  and  his 
wife  had  talked  over  for  his  benefit.  They 
had  arranged  between  themselves  that  when 
Harry  came  home  the  visit  they  had  promised 


158  SAXBY. 

to  pay  young  Oliver  Cromwell  at  Huntingdon 
should  be  paid,  and  they  would  take  Harry 
with  them  that  he  might  see  the  sisters  of 
Cromwell ;  and  then,  what  more  natural  than 
that  he  should  choose  one  of  them  for  a  wife  ? 
his  father  and  mother  had  argued.  So  they 
had  laid  their  plans  for  this  marriage,  and  the 
installment  of  the  young  couple  in  the  old 
homestead,  while  another  farm  should  be 
bought  for  Roger,  and  they  would  take  Larry 
and  remove  to  London,  or  go  to  this  new  col- 
ony in  America,  where  they  would  not  be 
harassed  with  vexatious  fines  for  non-attend- 
ance at  church,  or  be  looked  upon  with  sus- 
picion and  distrust  if  they  sympathized  with 
sectaries. 

Dame  Saxby  could  hardly  be  said  to  sym- 
pathize much  with  her  husband  in  these  latter 
aspirations.  She  did  not  see  why  he  should 
not  conform  to  the  law  and  go  to  his  own 
parish  church,  whatever  the  doctrine  might  be 
that  was  preached  ;  but  as  he  would  not  do 
this,  and  she  dreaded  the  fines  and  impover- 
ishment that  must  follow  his  refusal  even  more 
than  he  did,  she  was  willing  to  do  any  thing 
to  escape  them,  so  as  to  leave  the  property 
intact  for  their  children.  She  began  to  blame 
herself  now  for  not  having  tried  to  conciliate 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.      159 

poor  old  Gammer  Grove,  and  so  have  induced 
her  to  remove  the  witch  spells  in  which  it 
seemed  her  husband  was  still  bound  ;  for,  not 
content  with  offending  their  own  parson,  he 
openly  avowed  his  sympathy  with  Master 
Drayton,  who  had  been  ejected  from  the  next 
parish  for  his  Puritan  teaching,  and  helped  to 
support  him  as  a  traveling  lecturer,  but  he 
actually  permitted  him  to  lecture  in  one  of 
his  own  barns  occasionally,  and  welcomed  all 
who  liked  to  come  and  hear  him. 

Of  course  this  could  not  go  on  long  without 
attracting  the  notice  of  those  in  power,  and 
before  the  winter  was  over  Master  Saxby  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  bishop.  The 
weather  was  very  cold,  and  the  roads  almost 
impassable  with  snow,  when  the  summons  ar- 
rived, and  Master  Saxby  found  it  impossible 
to  reach  the  place  which  had  been  appointed 
by  the  bishop  by  the  day  named  in  the  sum- 
mons. 

For  this  delay  he  was  kept  in  prison  for  a 
month  at  his  own  charge,  and,  not  being  pro- 
vided with  means  for  this  unexpected  delay, 
and  unwilling  to  vex  his  wife  by  what  he  knew 
she  looked  upon  as  being  caused  by  his  own 
folly,  he  would  not  send  home  for  any  more 
money,  and  so  suffered  much  from  the  cold, 


160  SAX  BY. 

as  well  as  from  the  damp,  unwholesome  prison 
where  he  was  lodged. 

But,  so  far  from  yielding  on  the  point  for 
which  he  was  imprisoned  —  for  he  had  been 
asked  if  he  was  prepared  to  yield  obedience 
to  the  bishop  in  future  before  he  was  con- 
demned to  this  punishment,  and  had  refused 
— so  far  from  yielding  now,  he  was  more  de- 
termined than  ever  not  to  wound  his  own  con- 
science by  a  weak  compliance  to  ordinances 
he  despised,  and  to  a  spiritual  tyranny  growing 
more  like  that  of  Rome  every  day. 

He  obtained  the  use  of  a  Bible  in  his  prison, - 
and  would  sit  for  hours  poring  over  the  stories 
of  the  old  Hebrew  worthies,  "  Who  through 
faith  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteous- 
ness, obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths 
of  lions,  quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were 
made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens."  And  Master 
Saxby  found  the  promises  made  good ;  "  for 
out  of  weakness  "  was  he  "  made  strong,"  and 
he  could  look  forward  with  confident  hope  to 
the  day  when  old  England,  as  well  as  the  New 
England  a  handful  of  brave  men  were  going 
to  found,  would  be  freed  from  the  spiritual 
bondage  in  which  she  was  now  held,  and  all 


Another  Citation  from  the  Bishop.      161 

her  sons  be  permitted  to  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience. 
But  the  struggle  for  this  freedom  must  come 
first.  He  saw  that  more  clearly  than  ever,  and 
he,  too,  must  do  his  small  part  in  maintaining 
it.  Nothing  would  be  gained,  but  a  step  lost 
in  the  onward  march,  if  he  yielded  now ;  and 
so,  looking  on  to  the  victory  that  must  come 
by  and  by,  he  grew  brave  and  strong  in  spite 
of  his  meager  fare  and  close  imprisonment, 
and  the  bishop  found  that  his  spirit  had  by 
no  means  been  broken  by  this  taste  of  the 
rigors  of  the  law.  He  was  certainly  disap- 
pointed, but,  hoping  that  a  few  words  of  warn- 
ing as  to  what  he  might  expect  for  a  second 
offense  might  be  more  effective  than  continued 
punishment,  he  imposed  a  moderate  fine,  and 
when  this  was  paid  Master  Saxby  returned 
home,  but  not  to  attend  his  parish  church, 
or  to  turn  his  back  on  his  friend,  Master  Dray- 
ton,  but  to  give  more  earnest  heed  in  conduct- 
ing his  household  after  a  godly  fashion. 


162  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

KING  JAMES  AND  HIS  PARLIAMENT. 

SPRING  came  round  once  more,  and  in 
March  Master  John  Hampden  went  to 
take  his  seat  in  Parliament,  and  his  friend, 
Master  Saxby,  journeyed  to  London  with  him 
to  hear  all  the  news  about  the  German  war, 
and  make  inquiries  about  the  pilgrims  who 
had  gone  to  America,  and  the  prospects  of  the 
new  colony  established  there. 

The  men  chosen  by  the  country  as  their 
representatives  might  have  convinced  the  king 
that  they  were  in  earnest,  and  were  not  likely 
to  submit  even  to  his  kingly  authority  in  the 
matter  of  these  unlawful  monopolies,  and  the 
secret  favor  he  was  showing  to  the  Papists  by 
his  unwillingness  to  help  the  struggling  Prot- 
estants of  Germany. 

But  he  thought  to  intimidate  them  at  their 
first  sitting,  and  therefore  told  them  they  were 
no  more  than  his  council  to  give  him  advice ; 
and  as  to  their  anxiety  about  the  Palatinate 
and  his  daughter,  who,  with  her  children,  had 
been  turned  out  of  house  and  home  almost 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.       163 

destitute,  while  her  husband  was  feebly  main- 
taining the  unequal  struggle  for  the  Protestant 
cause,  he  was  quite  as  anxious  as  they  were, 
and — if  he  could  not  get  the  Palatinate  re- 
stored by  fair  means — his  crown,  his  treasure, 
and  his  blood  should  be  given  to  restore  them. 

He  then  commanded  the  Parliament  not  to 
waste  their  time  in  hunting  after  grievances, 
but  to  use  all  dispatch  in  voting  him  the 
money  to  commence  the  war. 

Believing  the  king's  protestations,  the  Com- 
mons at  once  voted  him  two  subsidies,  but  the 
king  took  no  step  toward  beginning  the  prom- 
ised war;  and  seeing  this,  the  Commons  began 
their  inquiries  about  the  illegal  monopolies  on 
currants,  silver  lace,  and  the  licenses  granted 
to  hostelries  which  were  in  the  hands  of  Sir 
Giles  Mompesson  and  Mitchell,  two  creatures 
of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham. 

But  the  king  was  by  no  means  disposed  to 
have  his  favorite's  arrangements  interfered  with 
in  this  way.  The  country  was  his  estate,  and 
existed  for  his  pleasure,  and  if  he  permitted 
Parliament  to  meet  and  advise  with  him  upon 
its  management  occasionally,  they  must  be 
taught  that  they  could  not,  and  should  not, 
interfere  with  his  prerogative.  This  was  King 
James'  view  of  the  situation,  and  he  cut  short 


164  SAXBY. 

their  inquiries  into  grievances,  and  prorogued 
Parliament  until  the  following  November,  to 
give  him  time  to  commence  the  promised  war. 
So  Master  John  Hampden  journeyed  back 
into  Buckinghamshire,  by  no  means  averse  to 
meeting  his  dear  wife  and  baby  daughter  again, 
but  more  grave,  more  anxious,  than  ever  he 
had  been  before.  He  had  held  many  conver- 
sations with  Master  John  Pym,  who  had  al- 
ready been  in  prison  for  his  bold  speaking  in 
Parliament,  and  it  seemed  to  him  now  that  the 
struggle  between  the  king  and  country  was 
but  beginning,  instead  of  being  nearly  over, 
as  he  had  sometimes  hoped  it  was.  Which 
would  conquer  in  the  end  he  did  not  know,  for 
on  the  one  side  was  the  deep,  calm,  but  ever- 
growing desire  for  more  freedom,  balanced  by 
a  reverence  for  kingly  authority,  and  a  deep 
sense  of  the  duty  of  obedience  to  all  lawful 
authority  up  to  a  certain  point.  On  the  other 
hand  there  was  the  obstinate  determination  to 
stretch  the  limits  of  kingly  prerogative  beyond 
what  had  ever  been  assumed  by  any  sovereign 
before.  James  aimed  at  nothing  less  than 
being  a  despotic  ruler,  while  the  people  were 
every  day  growing  less  likely  to  submit  to  it. 
This  hasty  dissolution  of  Parliament,  so  soon 
as  he  could  grasp  the  money  voted,  was  sow- 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.       165 

ing  the  seed  that  might  yield  a  bitter  harvest 
by  and  by,  either  to  the  king  or  his  son,  al- 
though Hampden  hoped,  from  what  he  had 
heard  of  Prince  Charles,  that  he  would  make  a 
better  king  than  his  father,  if  only  this  match 
with  Spain  could  be  broken  off. 

Master  Saxby  was  returning  home  again  for 
the  summer,  at  least,  and  as  they  journeyed 
along  the  roads  he  and  Master  Hampden  dis- 
cussed these  public  affairs,  and  whether  it 
would  be  better  to  seek  a  home  in  the  new 
country  at  once,  or  stay  and  do  what  they 
could  to  save  their  dear  native  land  from  fall- 
ing under  the  tyranny  of  priestcraft  again,  of 
which  there  seemed  such  imminent  danger. 

Master  Saxby 's  own  opinion  was,  that  it 
was  decidedly  his  neighbor's  duty  to  stay, 
more  especially  since  he  could  raise  his  voice 
in  Parliament,  and  make  one  of  the  band  of 
brave  patriots  who  had  determined  to  be  the 
mouth-piece  of  thousands  of  their  oppressed 
countrymen.  But  for  himself  he  was  not  so 
sure  what  was  the  right  course  to  be  pursued. 
He  had  been  threatened  with  a  second  and 
heavier  fine  in  case  of  his  non-compliance  with 
existing  laws,  and  his  return  to  Great  Kimble 
now  might  bring  upon  him  a  summons  from 

the  bishop   and  a  second  term  of  imprison- 
11 


166  SAXBY. 

mcnt,  as  well  as  a  fine  of  some  hundreds  or 
even  thousands  of  pounds ;  for  this  court  of 
High  Commission,  like  that  of  the  Star-cham- 
ber, rarely  allowed  a  victim  to  escape  until  it 
had  ruined  him ;  and  ruin  meant  worse  than 
poverty  to  his  children,  for  it  would  bring  upon 
them  the  unknown  power  of  their  ancestor's 
curse. 

Little  wonder  was  it,  therefore,  that  Master 
Saxby  was  going  back  to  his  home  in  fear  and 
trembling,  or  that  he  longed  for  the  rest  and 
security  of  some  place  where  he  might  worship 
God  in  peace  and  quietness,  though  he  should 
have  to  work  hard  and  endure  many  priva- 
tions, for  the  wandering  life  he  would  have  to 
lead  now,  banished  from  his  home,  if  he  would 
save  it  for  his  children,  was  already  growing 
irksome — almost  intolerable.  True,  there  was 
one  way  by  which  he  could  save  himself  and 
live  in  peace  and  security,  but  the  price  de- 
manded was  too  high — Master  Saxby  could 
not  violate  his  conscience,  even  for  the  sake  of 
peace  and  rest  and  security. 

Of  course  his  coming  home  brought  as  much 
pain  as  pleasure  to  his  wife  and  sons,  for 
he  still  absented  himself  from  church,  and 
went  to  hear  Master  Drayton  whenever  he 
preached  in  the  market-places  of  the  neighbor- 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.        167 

ing  towns,  which  soon  set  the  village  talking 
again,  and  made  Dame  Saxby  glance  fearfully 
and  furtively  down  the  road  half  a  dozen  times 
a 'day  in  expectation  of  seeing  the  bishop's 
messenger  riding  up  with  another  summons, 
as  he  came  that  sorry  day  last  winter.  This 
anxious  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  his  wife 
could  not  escape  Master  Saxby  long,  and  it 
fretted  and  worried  him  more  than  the  fear 
of  summons  itself  did. 

"  If  only  Harry  would  come  home,  dame, 
we  would  go  away  and  leave  the  lads  with  the 
land,  and  you  and  I  would  find  a  home  for 
ourselves  in  this  new  colony  of  America,  where 
we  should  no  longer  be  harassed  with  fear  of 
bishops'  messengers  and  fines,  but  might  end 
our  days  in  peace  and  rest." 

"  I  never  shall  know  peace  and  rest  again," 
said  Dame  Saxby,  bursting  into  tears ;  "  and 
as  to  Harry  coming  home,  what  would  be  the 
use  of  his  coming  now  with  a  fine  madam  of  a 
French  wife  ?  She  would  ruin  every  thing  in  a 
twelvemonth.  What  would  she  know  about  a 
dairy  and  our  way  of  managing  poultry?  and, 
after  all,  why  should  we  depend  so  much  upon 
Harry?  there  is  Roger." 

Master  Saxby  looked  at  his  wife  in  blank 
amazement ;  for  never  before  would  she  hear 


168  SAXBY. 

of  Roger  being  put  upon  an  equality  with 
their  eldest  son.  This  had  been  his  intention 
when  the  boys  were  young,  to  divide  the  land 
between  them ;  but  Dame  Saxby  had  instantly 
and  vehemently  opposed  it.  Harry  had  been 
her  darling  always,  and  her  partiality  had  often 
been  unduly  manifest,  which,  doubtless,  had 
caused  much  of  the  jealousy  felt  by  Roger 
against  his  brother — a  jealousy  which,  although 
Master  Saxby  had  regarded  it  as  a  mere  boyish 
feeling,  had  often  caused  him  some  anxiety, 
and  first  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  dividing 
the  land. 

His  wife's  opposition,  however,  had  pre- 
vailed. She  generally  did  contrive  to  have 
her  own  way  in  most  things,  and  Harry  had 
been  brought  up  as  the  heir  to  the  family 
estates,  while  Roger's  future  was  to  himself  at 
least  somewhat  uncertain,  although  his  father 
had  always  promised  that  he  should  be  amply 
provided  for.  Now  that  Harry  had  so  deeply 
offended  his  mother,  it  suddenly  flashed  across 
his  father's  mind  that  his  original  plan  about 
dividing  the  land  might  be  carried  out  now, 
and  he  ventured  to  hint  as  much  to  his  wife. 

She  did  not  notice  this  part  of  his  sugges- 
tion at  first,  but  said  sharply,  "You  must  de- 
stroy that  deed  giving  the  land  to  Harry  be- 


King  James  and  Jiis  Parliament.        169 

fore  your  death.  Let  Roger  have  it.  The  lad 
is  steadier  now  and  skillful  in  managing  the 
stock,  and  with  a  good  wife  to  look  after  the 
dairy,  he  might — " 

"  Nay,  nay,  dame,  the  lads  shall  divide  it 
between  them.  1  always  wished  it  so,  you 
know,  and  I  will  ride  over  to  Master  Hampden 
to-morrow  and  get  the  deed  back.  It  is  hard- 
ly just  to  Harry,  perhaps,  since  he  was  brought 
up  to  expect  all  the  land ;  but  he  was  ever 
kind  and  generous,  and  will  not  grudge  his 
brother  his  due  share.  This  done,  I  will  go  to 
London  again ;  the  '  Mayflower '  is  expected 
to  return  shortly,  and  the  shipmaster  will  be 
able  to  tell  us  all  the  news  about  our  friends 
who  have  gone  to  America,  and  whether  the 
'  Mayflower '  will  take  out  a  second  party  this 
year." 

"  Nay,  but  you  will  not  think  of  going  to 
this  New  England  just  yet.  Wait  awhile  until 
Parliament  meets  again,  and  it  may  be  that 
Master  Hampden  and  some  of  the  other  Puri- 
tan members  may  persuade  the  king  to  alter 
the  laws  that  press  upon  them  so  heavily." 

But  her  husband  shook  his  head  rather 
mournfully.  "  Nay,  nay,  Moll,  we  must  not 
expect  this  just  yet.  Many  grievances  must  be 
considered,  many  wrongs  set  right  before  this 


1 70  SAXBY. 

can  be  reached,  and,  I  fear,  each  concession 
will  be  wrung  from  the  king  only  after  much 
struggling,  and  it  may  be  much  suffering  for 
those  who  have  made  the  country's  cause  their 
own." 

"  Dear  heart !  then,  if  it  is  to  cause  so  much 
trouble,  would  it  not  be  better  to  yield  at 
once,  and  go  to  church  in  a  decent  fashion, 
and  listen  to  the  king's  '  Book  of  Sports '  and 
all  other  things  he  may  command." 

"  Nay,  nay,  Moll,  did  you  never  hear  of  the 
Smithfield  fires  in  Queen  Mary's  days  ?  They 
do  not  burn  us  now,  but  there  is  still  some 
work  to  do  which  the  martyrs  begun.  They 
died  to  free  our  land  from  the  pope  at  Rome, 
and  we  must  struggle  to  free  ourselves  from 
the  popes  of  the  High  Commission  at  West- 
minster. TJiey  did  not  talk  of  yielding  because 
the  warfare  might  be  long  and  difficult.  They 
died  true  to  God  and  what  they  held  to  be  his 
sacred  truth,  and  we  must  live  and  struggle 
for  our  right  to  hold  the  same." 

But  Dame  Saxby  could  not  sympathize 
much  in  her  husband's  noble  aspirations.  Her 
one  aim  was  to  make  life  easy  and  comfort- 
able, and  serve  God  after  the  same  fashion  if 
she  could ;  so  she  contrived  to  turn  the  con- 
versation now  by  some  question  about  the 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.        171 

harvest  and  the  storing  of  the  winter  cheese, 
and  then,  when  he  spoke  of  journeying  to 
London  again  as  soon  as  the  harvest  was  over, 
she  persuaded  him  to  promise  that  he  would 
not  think  any  thing  more  about  going  to 
America  just  yet ;  that  he  would  wait  and  see 
how  the  next  Parliament  prospered.  He  could 
stay  with  Master  Hampden  and  learn  all  par- 
ticulars of  this,  and  visit  his  friends  the  Mil- 
tons,  and  then,  in  the  spring,  they  would  pay 
their  promised  visit  to  Huntingdon,  and  take 
Roger  with  them  that  he  might  choose  one  of 
Master  Oliver  Cromwell's  sisters  for  a  wife. 
Only,  before  he  returned  to  London,  he  must 
get  back  the  deed  he  had  lodged  with  Master 
Hampden,  and  destroy  it. 

"  Nay,  nay,  dame,  I  cannot  promise  to  de- 
stroy it.  I  will  keep  it  for  the  present ;  but 
the  land  shall  be  divided  between  the  lads  an 
you  will,"  said  her  husband,  and  with  this 
concession  Dame  Saxby  was  obliged  to  be 
content. 

The  next  day  the  parchment  making  over 
the  Saxby  lands  by  deed  of  gift  to  Harry  was 
brought  home  and  put  away,  and  then  prep- 
arations were  commenced  for  Master  Saxby's 
speedy  return  to  London ;  for  although  the 
Parliament  did  not  meet  until  November,  and 


i/2  SAXBY. 

Master  Hampden  would  not  go  up  until  he 
was  obliged,  Dame  Saxby's  restless  fear,  though 
she  never  spoke  of  it,  was  all  too  apparent  to 
her  husband,  for  him  to  enjoy  any  peace  or 
rest.  So,  as  soon  as  the  principal  part. of  the 
harvest  was  gathered  in,  he  rode  away  once 
more,  thankful  to  escape  from  his  home  with- 
out a  visit  from  the  bishop's  messenger,  but 
feeling  sadly  like  a  man  banished  and  doomed 
to  wander  a  stranger  among  strangers  for  the 
rest  of  his  life. 

The  whole  summer  had  passed,  and  the 
king's  promise  and  the  purpose  for  which  he 
had  received  the  two  subsidies  were  still  unful- 
filled. No  army  had  been  sent  to  help  the 
struggling  Protestants  of  Germany,  and  all  En- 
gland was  filled  with  the  bitterest  discontent ; 
for  it  was  pretty  generally  known  now  that  it 
was  for  fear  of  offending  Spain,  that  mighty 
mistress  of  Europe,  and  spoiling  his  son's 
chance  of  marrying  the  Infanta,  that  James 
had  broken  his  promise  to  his  subjects,  and 
well-nigh  broken  many  a  father  and  mother's 
heart ;  for  many  had  given  up  their  sons,  as  the 
Saxbies  had,  hoping  their  king  would  soon 
bring  the  struggle  to  a  close.  But  now  the 
war  had  already  dragged  through  three  years, 
and  many  a  brave  young  Englishman  of  noble 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.        \  73 

birth,  as  well  as  some  of  her  poorer  sons,  had 
left  their  bones  to  whiten  on  those  German 
battle-fields.  And  it  was  to  please  Spain  this 
had  to  be  endured.  Spain  !  their  deadly  foe, 
through  whose  king  the  persecution  under 
Mary  had  been  mainly  instigated  ;  who  had 
since  sent  against  them  the  mighty  Armada 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  dethroning  their 
Protestant  queen  and  handing  the  kingdom 
over  to  the  power  of  the  pope.  Was  it  won- 
derful that  the  heart  of  England  beat  with 
the  bitterest  indignation  against  this  Spanish 
match  ?  or  that  one  of  the  first  actions  of  the 
re-assembled  Parliament  should  be  to  protest 
against  it  ?  They  drew  up  a  remonstrance, 
showing  the  danger  in  which  the  Protestant 
religion  now  stood  from  the  growth  and  en- 
couragement given  to  Popery,  both  at  home 
and  abroad  ;  for,  at  the  request  of  the  Spanish 
embassador,  many  of  the  laws  made  against 
Papists  were  allowed  to  fall  into  disuse.  They 
also  begged  the  king  to  break  off  this  Spanish 
match  and  marry  his  son  to  a  Protestant  prin- 
cess, and  take  up  the  sword  at  once  for  the 
recovery  of  the  Palatinate,  which  would  re- 
store something  of  the  Protestant  balance  in 
Europe. 

But  prayers  and  remonstrances  alike  proved 


r  74  SAXBY. 

unavailing.  The  king  indignantly  forbade 
their  meddling  with  his  government  or  his 
son's  marriage,  and  tells  them  he  is  at  liberty 
to  punish  any  man's  misdemeanor  in  Parlia- 
ment during  its  sitting  as  well  as  after,  which 
he  warns  them  he  will  not  spare. 

They  at  once  drew  up  another  remonstrance, 
insisting  upon  the  laws  of  the  country  being 
observed  and  freedom  of  debate  in  Parliament. 
In  his  answer  the  king  denied  them  what  they 
call  their  ancient  and  undoubted  right  and  in- 
heritance. 

They  entered  a  protestation  in  their  journal 
in  maintenance  of  their  claim,  but  the  king 
tore  it  out  and  once  more  dissolved  Parliament. 

But  in  the  intervals  of  this  warfare  the  Com- 
mons had  contrived  to  do  one  or  two  good 
things,  which,  doubtless,  tended  to  increase 
the  king's  wrath  against  them.  They  de- 
stroyed several  monopolies  created  by  royal 
prerogative,  and  Sir  Giles  Mompesson  and 
Edward  Villiers,  brother  of  the  reigning  favor- 
ite, fled  beyond  seas,  and  were  doomed  to  life- 
long banishment.  An  attempt  was  also  made 
to  break  the  power  of  the  Star-chamber,  and 
check  corruption  and  bribery  among  judges 
and  among  State  officials  ;  and  the  lord  chan- 
cellor—the great  Lord  Bacon — was  brought 


King  James  and  his  Parliament.        175 

to  trial  before  the  House  of  Lords,  and  con- 
demned to  pay  a  ruinous  fine. 

But  if  the  Parliament  thus  scored  a  few  vic- 
tories, their  feeling  of  triumph  was  but  short- 
lived, for  no  sooner  were  the  Houses  dissolved 
than  all  the  leaders  were  arrested  and  thrown 
into  prison.  Sir  Edward  Coke,  Sir  Robert 
Phillips,  Pym,  Selden,  and  Mallory  were  com- 
mitted to  the  Gate-house.  The  Earls  of  Ox- 
ford and  Southampton  were  sent  to  the  Tower, 
while  others  were  banished  to  Ireland.  Little 
wonder  was  it  that  Hampden  and  several  oth- 
ers who  narrowly  escaped  a  similar  fate  should 
return  home  depressed  and  dismayed  at  these 
high-handed  acts  of  semi-despotism.  What 
would  be  the  end  of  such  a  struggle  as  this  ? 


176  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AT  THE   SIGN  OF  THE  SPREAD   EAGLE. 

SIX  years  have  passed  since  the  close  of  our 
last  chapter — six  years  of  alternate  hope 
and  bitterest  disappointment  for  England,  and 
for  Master  Saxby,  as  well  as  for  thousands  of 
others.  King  James  had  been  called  to  render 
an  account  of  his  stewardship  in  1625,  and  the 
nation  hoped  that  the  young  King  Charles 
would  rule  them  wisely  and  well,  in  spite  of 
his  having  taken  a  Roman  Catholic  princess 
for  a  wife ;  for  although  the  Spanish  match, 
which  had  so  long  been  a  nightmare  to  the 
whole  nation,  was  at  last  broken  off  by  the 
favorite,  Buckingham,  arrangements  were  at 
once  made  for  his  marriage  with  Henrietta 
Maria,  of  France,  a  most  bigoted  Roman 
Catholic.  But  still,  although  her  influence 
over  her  husband  was,  doubtless,  very  great, 
Queen  Mary  —  as  she  was  called — cannot  be 
charged  with  having  brought  all  the  evils  upon 
the  nation  under  which  they  groaned,  or  even 
as  much  as  she  was  charged  with  in  those 
days  ;  though,  doubtless,  her  extravagance  and 


At  the  Sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle.        1 77 

bigotry   helped   to   aggravate   the   numerous 
evils. 

This  year,  1628,  had  well-nigh  broken  the 
nation's  heart  and  its  faith  in  the  king's  plight- 
ed word.  England  would  never  again  be  what 
it  had  been,  and  hundreds  of  the  best  and 
bravest  of  her  sons  were  betaking  themselves 
to  the  shores  whither  the  little  "  Mayflower," 
had  gone  eight  years  before.  Difficulties  be- 
fore which  less  resolute  men  would  have  given 
up  in  despair  had  been  well-nigh  conquered 
now,  and  the  brave,  unselfish  Pilgrim  Fathers 
had  seen  the  desire  of  their  hearts  accom- 
plished and  a  New  England  founded  "  where 
they  could  show  their  countrymen,  by  their 
example,  where  they  might  live  and  comfort- 
ably subsist,  and,  being  free  from  antichristian 
bondage,  might  keep  their  names  and  nation 
and  be  a  means  to  enlarge  the  dominion  of  the 
English  State  and  the  Church  of  Christ  also." 
Their  "  countrymen  "  had  shown  their  appre- 
ciation of  their  effort  by  going  out  to  the  new 
colony  in  increasing  numbers  each  year,  until, 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  the  num- 
bers had  reached  over  a  thousand  a  year ;  and 
these  were  not  from  the  poorer  classes,  but 
mainly  from  the  most  educated,  thoughtful, 
and  refined  portion  of  society.  The  very 


i/8  SAXBY. 

flower  of  the  English  State  and  nation  were 
thus  forsaking  the  mother  country  for  con- 
science' sake,  and  to  enjoy  that  civil  and  relig- 
ious liberty  that  yearly  grew  less  and  less  pos- 
sible at  home. 

Master  Saxby  and  his  wife  were  now  in  Lon- 
don, waiting  for  the  sailing  of  a  vessel  that  was 
to  take  them  to  New  Plymouth,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  ;  for  the  good  man  had 
been  so  harassed  with  fines  and  imprisonment 
during  the  last  two  years  that  Dame  Saxby 
had  at  last  urged  their  going  before  they 
should  be  utterly  ruined  ;  for,  in  addition  to 
fines,  subsidies  were  constantly  being  raised 
without  the  sanction  of  Parliament,  and  mo- 
nopolieswere  imposed  upon  almost  everyarticle 
of  daily  use,  besides  forced  loans,  which  those 
who  would  not  pay  were  imprisoned  for  refusing, 
and  those  who  could  not  were  forced  to  serve  in 
in  the  army  or  navy,  leaving  their  families  to 
starve.  The  kinghad  threatened  the  Parliament, 
which  met  in  March,  with  "  new  counsels  "  be- 
cause they  had  dared  to  force  from  him  his  as- 
sent to  the  "  Petition  of  Right,"  which  was  to 
secure  for  every  subject  personal  liberty  unless 
he  had  offended  against  the  law  of  the  land. 
The  "  new  counsels  "  appeared  in  the  shape  of 
a  naked  despotism.  Every  thing  short  of  the 


At  tJic  Si £ii  of  the  Spread  Eagle.        179 

absolute  surrender  of  the  subject  to  the  mus- 
kets of  the  soldiery  was  resorted  to,  and  had 
the  king  any  military  force  on  which  he  could 
rely,  he  would  at  once  have  thrown  off  the 
mask  and  governed  without  any  regard  to  par- 
liamentary privileges.  But  his  army  was  new- 
levied,  ill-paid,  and  worse  disciplined,  and  no- 
wise superior  to  the  militia,  who  were  much 
more  numerous  and  were  under  the  influence 
of  the  country  gentlemen,  who,  instead  of  being 
subservient  to  the  king  and  the  commands 
which  he  issued  through  the  pulpits  of  the 
country,  dared  to  refuse  to  lend  their  money 
unjustly,  though  arrest  and  imprisonment  fol- 
lowed. Every  patriot  had  known  something 
of  this  experience  by  this  time,  and  it  was  well 
that  gentle  Dame  Hampden  and  her  husband 
had  counted  the  cost  of  his  going  to  Parlia- 
ment, or  he  would  long  ago  have  given  up  what 
must  have  often  seemed  a  vain  struggle,  and 
settled  down  to  the  easy  life  which  his  wealth 
and  position  entitled  him  to  enjoy. 

How  often  had  he  come  home  weary,  jaded, 
almost  despairing,  to  be  cheered  by  the  brave, 
gentle  wife  and  his  family  of  growing  boys 
and  girls  !  Had  he  wanted  an  excuse  to  aban- 
don his  post  and  leave  his  bleeding  country 
to  the  mercy  of  the  oppressor,  he  might  have 


i  So  SAXBY. 

found  it  in  the  demands  his  growing  family 
had  upon  his  time  and  care,  but  neither  he 
nor  his  friend,  John  Pym,  ever  thought  of  giv- 
ing up  the  struggle.  It  might  be  a  forlorn 
hope  they  were  leading,  for  all  the  remon- 
strances, petitions,  and  protestations  were  pow- 
erless to  move  the  king  to  redress  the  wrongs 
of  the  country,  and  while  the  court  grew  more 
extravagant  and  corrupt  every  day,  a  more 
grinding  taxation  was  imposed  to  maintain  it. 
Who  could  blame  those  who,  like  Master  Sax- 
by,  fled  from  the  country  to  save  themselves 
from  utter  ruin?  Master  Hampden  did  not, 
although  he  refused  to  cast  in  his  lot  with 
them  just  yet.  By  and  by,  perhaps,  if  things 
grew  utterly  hopeless,  he  and  his  friends,  Lord 
Say,  and  Lord  Brook,  and  his  cousin,  Oliver 
Cromwell,  would  go  to  America.  Lord  Say 
and  Lord  Brook  were  already  so  far  anticipat- 
ing that  time  as  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase 
of  some  land  and  the  building  of  some  houses, 
which  were  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  town,  to 
be  called  after  them — Saybrook.  But  not  yet 
would  they  abandon  their  posts. 

Master  Saxby  urged  that  things  could  not 
be  worse  than  they  were,  for  the  king  had 
broken  his  pledged  word,  and  copies  of  this 
famous  "  Petition  of  Right "  were  printed  by 


At  the  Sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle.       181 

the  king's  order  containing  his  first  assent, 
which  had  been  refused  by  Parliament  as  too 
indefinite,  and  omitting  altogether  his  second, 
which,  had  been  wrung  from  him  with  so  much 
trouble,  and  which  alone  made  it  binding. 
Then  again,  since  Parliament  had  been  pro- 
rogued, fresh  monopolies  had  been  imposed, 
and  several  friends  on  the  patriots'  side  had 
been  won  over  to  the  king's  party.  News  had 
just  reached  them  of  the  parting  of  Pym  and 
his  dearest  friend  in  Parliament,  Sir  Thomas 
Wentworth.  Pym  was  neither  to  be  bribed 
or  frightened  into  forsaking  his  party;  but  it 
well-nigh  broke  his  heart,  and  he  knew  the 
defection  of  such  an  able  leader  as  Wentworth 
would  be  a  heavy  blow  to  their  party.  The 
news  of  that  parting  at  Greenwich,  and  Pym's 
words  of  warning  to  his  friend,"  You  are  going 
to  be  undone,  and  remember  that,  though  you 
are  going  to  leave  us,  I  will  never  leave  you 
while  your  head  is  upon  your  shoulders ! " 
These  and  all  the  attendant  circumstances  of 
that  parting  were  whispered  and  treasured  in 
men's  minds  ;  some  wondering  whether  Pym, 
too,  would  turn  traitor  and  betray  his  friends. 
But,  though  this  year  brought  such  bitter 
trials  and  cruel  defections  among  the  ranks  .of 

the  patriots,  it  brought  them  also  a  little  hope 
12 


1 82  SAXBY. 

and  encouragement  in  the  election  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  for  Huntingdon.  None  but  Hamp- 
den,  perhaps,  knew  the  value  this  plain  coun- 
try farmer  was  likely  to  prove  to  their  party. 
Some  deemed  him  scarcely  worth  notice  in  his 
country-cut,  clumsily-made  clothes,  his  collar 
tumbled  and  none  too  clean ;  but  they  knew 
and  valued  the  opinion  of  John  Hampden,  the 
finished  scholar  and  perfect  gentleman ;  and 
when  he  told  them  there  was  more  in  his  un- 
polished cousin  than  they  dreamed  of,  they 
took  his  word,  and  Cromwell  was  admitted  to 
the  special  coteries  and  councils  that  were 
held  at  Pym's  house,  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  and 
Sir  Robert  Cotton's  library,  in  Westminster. 
These  were  the  favorite  meeting-places  of  the 
patriots,  and  the  latter  was  of  untold  value 
to  them,  for  Sir  Robert  possessed  one  of  the 
most  valuable  libraries  in  the  kingdom,  and 
here  they  could  study  points  of  law  touching 
constitutional  right  and  kingly  prerogative 
such  as  few  other  books  would  afford.  All 
the  remonstrances  and  petitions  in  this  dire 
struggle  were  but  for  the  re-establishment 
of  constitutional  right,  and  the  patriots  were 
most  careful  to  abide  by  the  law  in  all  that 
they  did. 

But  it  is  time  now  that  we  turn  to  some 


At  the  Sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle.       183 

of  our  old  friends  gathered  at  the  sign  of  the 
Spread  Eagle,  in  Broad -street,  for  Master 
Saxby  was  staying  here  as  the  friend  of  the 
scrivener,  John  Milton,  as  being  the  only  way 
he  was  likely  to  escape  fresh  trouble.  An  arbi- 
trary command  had  been  issued  by  the  king 
ordering  all  gentlemen  having  homes  in  the 
country  to  live  there  and  leave  London.  To 
compel  obedience,  tavern  keepers  were  for- 
bidden to  sell  cooked  meat,  and  no  hostelry 
might  supply  more  than  one  meal  to  a  trav- 
eler. 

So,  instead  of  going  to  Shakspeare's  "  Mer- 
maid," as  he  usually  did,  Master  Saxby  was 
accommodated  at  his  friend's  opposite ;  for 
young  John  was  at  Cambridge  now,  studying 
with  a  view  to  enter  the  Church  by  and  by. 
The  scrivener  was  very  proud  of  his  son,  who 
already  gave  promise  of  being  not  only  a 
learned,  but  a  rarely  gifted  man,  for  he  had 
already  gained  for  himself  some  notice  among 
his  father's  friends  by  the  poetry  he  had  writ- 
ten. One  hymn,  which,  with  a  few  slight 
alterations,  now  finds  its  way  into  many  a 
modern  hymn  book,  had  been  written  about 
five  years  before,  when  he  was  a  lad  of  fif- 
teen ;  and  now  as  the  friends  gathered  in  the 
pleasant  keeping-room  over  the  shop,  Master 


1 84  SAXBY. 

Stocke  proposed  that  they  should  have  a  little 
music  first,  and  sing  Master  John's  hymn. 

The  fond  father  and  mother  were  nothing 
loth,  and  the  old  scrivener  seated  himself  at 
the  organ,  and  they  all  joined  in  singing 
"  John's  Hymn  :  " — 

"  Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind 
Praise  the  Lord,  for  he  is  kind, 
For  his  mercies  aye  endure, 
Ever  faithful,  ever  sure." 

When  the  hymn  was  sung  the  friends  natu- 
rally fell  to  talking  of  the  writer  and  his  future 
prospects,  and  then  of  the  Church  and  the 
growth  of  Arminianism  and  Popery,  which  the 
new  Bishop  of  London,  Laud,  was  doing  so 
much  to  promote.  Church  and  State  were 
working  together  now  to  put  down  all  free- 
dom of  thought  and  action,  and  the  Puritans 
of  London  knew  that  they  had  little  favor  to 
expect  from  their  new  Bishop,  whose  sole  aim 
was  to  bring  the  Church  into  strict  conformity 
with  his  ideal  of  what  the  ritual  and  doctrine 
of  a  Church  should  be.  He  was  sincere  and 
devout,  but  narrow-minded  and  bigoted ;  spoke 
of  the  Reformation  as  a  deformation,  and  at 
once  set  about  bringing  back  some  of  the 
Romish  practices  that  had  been  swept  away. 

Master  Stocke,  the  minister  of  Allhallows, 


At  t/te  Sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle.       185 

had  received  notice  to  rail  off  the  chancel  of 
the  church,  and  place  a  table  altarwise  within 
the  rails,  around  which  communicants  were  to 
kneel  when  they  partook  of  the  sacrament,  in- 
stead of  standing  or  sitting  round  the  long 
movable  table,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  cus- 
tom among  Puritan  congregations.  Master 
Milton  and  his  gentle  wife  looked  amazed  and 
shocked.  "  So  soon  !  "  uttered  the  scrivener. 
"What  do  you  propose  to  do,  Master  Stocke?" 

"  Nothing.  I  cannot  wound  my  own  con- 
science, and  the  conscience  of  my  people,  by 
setting  up  Popery  and  the  worship  of  the 
mass  in  their  midst ;  and  what  is  it  less  than 
that?" 

"  Ah,  ah,  we  in  country  parishes  have  long 
groaned  under  this  bondage,"  said  Master 
Saxby. 

"  Will  you  not  appeal  to  the  Archbishop  ? 
It  is  well  known  that  godly  Master  Abbot  has 
no  favor  to  Arminianism ;  and  these  high- 
Church  notions  of  Bishop  Laud,  who  would 
fain  have  made  himself  Pope  when  he  was  but 
Dean  of  Gloucester,  cannot  be  borne  here  in 
London." 

"  I  might  appeal,  but  'tis  well  known  that 
the  archbishop  is  in  no  favor  at  court  now,  for 
his  leaning  to  Puritanism ;  and  his  age  and  in- 


1 86  SAXBY. 

firmities  will  be  an  excuse  for  investing  our 

*  c> 

new  bishop  with  the  power  of  the  primate  be- 
fore he  shall  succeed  to  that  office,"  said  Mas- 
ter Stocke,  with  a  deep-drawn  sigh. 

"  Then  Parliament  must  appeal  when  it  shall 
meet  again,  in  October,"  said  Master  Milton. 

"The  Parliament  is  determined  to  proceed 
in  its  impeachment  of  Buckingham,  as  the 
primary  cause  of  all  our  troubles,  and  also  of 
our  helping  those  who  sought  to  crush  our 
Protestant  brethren  of  France  in  their  last 
stronghold  of  Rochelle." 

"  Nay,  nay,  but  we  did  not  crush  them,  and 
we  are  now  about  to  help  them.  The  duke 
has  even  now  gone  to  their  relief;  he  left 
London  this  morning,  to  sail  with  the  fleet 
which  lies  at  Portsmouth  waiting  his  arrival." 

"  The  duke  has  gone  to  gratify  his  personal 
revenge  against  the  French  Cardinal  Richelieu, 
and  the  most  effectual  blow  can  be  struck  at 
him  by  helping  the  Huguenots  in  their  last 
struggle  for  religious  liberty,"  said  Master 
Stocke. 

"  Ah,  ah,  when  the  great  duke  was  friendly 
with  the  court  of  France  we  were  compelled 
to  send  our  fleet  against  these  poor  Rochellers, 
and  but  for  the  one  Protestant  heart  that  beat 
in  every  sailor's  bosom,  England  would  have 


At  the  Sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle.        187 

earned  for  herself  the  undying  infamy  of  hav- 
ing crushed  these  noble  Huguenots.  But, 
thank  God,  we  were  saved  from  this  shame 
and  disaster  by  the  mutiny  of  our  brave  sailors, 
who,  to  a  man,  declared  they  would  not  fight 
against  their  Protestant  brethren." 

"  Ah,  Master  Saxby,  you  may  well  say  we 
were  saved  from  that  shame,  but  what  have 
we  done  to  help  the  struggling  Protestants  of 
Europe,"  said  Master  Stocke,  as  he  pulled  from 
his  pocket  a  printed  sheet.  "  The  Corantes," 
it  was  called,  and  was  the  first  English  news- 
paper published.  It  gave  the  latest  intelli- 
gence about  the  German  war,  and  this  was  all 
it  dared  to  do ;  for  home  politics  and  the  do- 
ings of  court  and  Parliament  dare  not  be  men- 
tioned. Already  several  brave  men  had  been 
imprisoned  for  daring  to  question  the  doings 
of  the  queen  and  court,  and  the  decisions  of 
the  court  of  Star-chamber.  But  news  of  the 
German  war  was  gladly  welcomed ;  for,  apart 
from  the  national  interest  in  the  struggle,  so 
many  had  friends  and  relatives  fighting  in  the 
cause  of  freedom  that,  like  Master  Saxby  now, 
they  forgot  all  else  for  the  time  in  their  eager- 
ness to  read  Butter's  "  Corantes." 

"  We  may  hear  of  Harry  now,  before  we  go, 
dame,"  whispered  Master  Saxby  to  his  wife, 


1 88  SAXBY. 

as  the  minister  prepared  to  read  aloud  some 
of  the  latest  items  of  news.  This  awful  war, 
which  had  already  raged  for  eight  years,  and 
was  destined  to  last  for  twenty-two  years  long- 
er, had  desolated  some  of  the  fairest  provinces 
of  Germany,  and  famine  and  sickness  had  fol- 
lowed in  its  train  ;  so  that  this  sheet  of  foreign 
news  was  but  the  recapitulation  of  skirmishes, 
battles,  sieges,  retreats  and  victories,  sickness 
and  death.  Regiments  engaged,  and  the  names 
of  some  who  had  died  or  distinguished  them- 
selves, were  often  mentioned,  and  once  Master 
Saxby  had  the  joy  of  seeing  Harry's  name 
mentioned  in  terms  of  the  highest  commenda- 
tion for  some  deed  of  heroism,  by  which  a  party 
of  women  and  children — refugees  from  some 
neighboring  town — were  saved  from  death,  by 
his  prompt  and  brave  activity. 

But  there  was  no  mention  of  Harry,  or  his 
regiment  either,  to-day,  and  when  a  little  time 
had  been  given  to  the  discussion  of  what  had 
been  read,  Master  Stocke  opened  the  great 
Bible  that  had  been  placed  before  him,  and 
read  a  portion  of  God's  word,  so  dear  to  every 
Puritan  heart  and  lover  of  freedom — the  old 
heroic  days  of  the  children  of  Israel,  when 
they  were  ruled  by  judges,  who  were  first  their 
deliverers. 


A  Strange  Meeting.  189 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

A    STRANGE    MEETING. 

PORTSMOUTH  was  full  of  visitors  when 
our  friend,  Master  Saxby,  reached  there ; 
for  the  fleet  had  not  yet  sailed,  but  lay  in  the 
offing,  waiting  the  embarkation  of  the  Duke 
of  Buckingham,  who  was  to  lead  them  to  the 
relief  of  the  struggling  French  Protestants 
besieged  in  Rochelle.  But  that  embarkation 
was  never  to  take  place.  While  Master  Saxby 
was  inquiring  for  lodgings  at  a  quiet  hostelry 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  a  traveler  came 
in  bringing  news  that  the  duke  had  been 
murdered. 

"  Murdered!"  exclaimed  half  a  dozen  voices. 

"  Ay,  stabbed  to  the  heart ;  but  they  have 
taken  the  wretch,  who  scarcely  tried  to  escape," 
said  the  informant. 

"  He  is  one  of  these  Puritans,  doubtless,  who 
thinks  he  has  done  a  good  deed,  and  is  willing 
to  be  a  martyr." 

"  Nay,  nay,  friend,  these  are  not  Puritan 
ways,  to  stab  even  an  enemy,"  said  Master 
Saxby,  warmly. 


1 90  SAXBY. 

"  But  you  cannot  deny  that  the  Puritans  in 
Parliament  meant  to  impeach  the  duke  of 
treason,  and  I  know  not  what,"  said  the  man, 
in  a  swaggering  tone. 

"The  duke  would,  doubtless,  have  been 
called  to  account  for  many  things  which  he 
has  caused  to  be  done  against  the  laws  of  this 
realm,  but  he  would  have  been  judged  accord- 
ing to  law,  which  the  Puritans  are  struggling 
to  uphold,"  replied  Master  Saxby. 

"  Ah,  well,  the  Parliament  is  saved  a  troub- 
lesome piece  of  work,  and  the  fellow  might 
have  killed  many  a  better  man,"  said  another, 
carelessly. 

This  last  opinion  seemed  to  express  the 
feelings  of  most  of  those  present,  although 
several  went  out  at  once  to  ascertain  if  the  re- 
port of  this  murder  was  true,  and  gather  fur- 
ther particulars  about  it. 

While  they  had  been  talking  another  party 
of  travelers  had  come  in — a  young  gentleman, 
evidently  just  returned  from  foreign  travel, 
two  or  three  servants,  and  two  children.  The 
gentleman  wanted  accommodation  for  the  serv- 
ants, children,  and  luggage  that  had  been  left 
on  the  ship.  He  himself  was  anxious  to  jour- 
ney to  London  at  once,  but  the  children  re- 
quired rest  before  they  journeyed  farther,  and 


A  Strange  Meeting.  191 

the  servants  would  bring  them  on  by  easy 
stages  a  day  or  two  later.  While  the  gentle- 
man was  arranging  with  the  landlord,  Dame 
Saxby  tried  to  enter  into  conversation  with 
the  children,  but  she  found  they  could  not 
speak  a  word  of  English. 

This  evidently  surprised  and  disappointed 
the  elderly  lady,  and  she  said  to  her  husband, 
"  They  certainly  look  like  English  children  in 
spite  of  their  outlandish  clothes,  and  the  little 
girl  is  just  like  what  our  Harry  used  to  be." 

Master  Saxby  glanced  carelessly  at  the  chil- 
dren, but  something  in  the  little  girl's  face — 
in  the  expression  of  her  eyes,  reminded  him  so 
forcibly  of  what  his  eldest  son  had  been,  as  a 
child,  that  he,  too,  stooped  down  and  spoke  to 
her.  But  the  child  only  shook  her  head  and 
turned  to  her  brother  for  protection  against 
these  strangers.;  and  he,  sheltering  his  little 
sister,  turned  such  a  look  of  angry  defiance 
upon  them,  that  Master  Saxby  gave  up  the 
attempt  to  become  friendly  with  them.  A 
little  later  he  asked  the  landlord  who  his  guests 
were,  and  was  told  that  the  gentleman  was 
Master  Harry  Vane,  who  was  returning  from 
Geneva,  where  he  had  been  studying  for  a  year. 

From  the  servants  he  learned  that  their 
master's  family  were  about  the  court ;  his  fa- 


i g2  SAXBY. 

ther,  Sir  Harry  Vane,  being  comptroller  of  the 
king's  household.  So  Master  Saxby  had  little 
doubt  but  that  the  gentleman  had  hurried 
away  in  consequence  of  the  duke's  death,  about 
which  there  was  no  doubt  now. 

If  Master  Saxby  could  only  have  known 
that  it  was  himself  the  gentleman  was  anxious 
to  see ;  that  his  journey  to  London  was  but  a 
stage  on  his  way  to  Great  Kimble  to  arrange 
for  the  arrival  of  the  children  at  their  paternal 
home !  Ah,  if  Dame  Saxby  could  only  have 
known  that  the  little  girl,  who  had  so  strange- 
ly interested  her,  was  her  dear  son's  mother- 
less child,  how  it  would  have  altered  all  their 
plans  for  the  future. 

But  they  knew  nothing  of  all  this,  and  so 
went  on  board  the  little  vessel  next  day  that 
was  to  carry  them  to  the  New  World,  leaving 
Portsmouth  in  greater  excitement  than  ever, 
and  the  two  children  eagerly  watching  the  busy 
crowds  in  the  streets,  and  condescending  to 
nod  a  farewell  in  response  to  Dame  Saxby  as 
she  cast  a  last  lingering  look  at  the  dear  little 
face  framed  in  the  quaint  cap  of  the  period, 
and  pressed  against  the  diamond  panes  of  the 
casement  over  the  gate-way  of  the  hostelry. 
An  hour  or  two  after  the  departure  of  Master 
Saxby  and  his  wife  a  servant  entered  the  room 


A  Strange  Meeting.  193 

where  the  two  children  were  still  standing  at  the 
window.  "  Master  Rupert,  the  horses  will  be 
ready  at  six  to-morrow  morning,  and  we  may 
continue  our  journey  an  you  will ;  but  my 
master  bade  that  you  should  not  be  hurried, 
and  so  if  you  would  rest  here  longer  we  can 
tarry  until  Thursday." 

The  man  spoke  in  German,  and  the  boy  an- 
swered him  in  the  same  language,  with  the  air 
of  one  used  to  control  his  own  actions  and  or- 
der others.  "  We  will  journey  forward,"  he 
said  shortly,  and  then  turned  to  his  sister  again. 
He  could  scarcely  have  been  more  than  six, 
but  looked  eight  or  ten  years  old,  and  the 
grave  protective  air  with  which  he  drew  his 
sister  toward  him  was  very  touching.  She 
laid  her  little  head  on  his  shoulder  and  looked 
at  him  with  her  sweet  blue  eyes,  and  said,  in 
a  half  whisper,  "  I  wonder  what  it  will  all  be 
like,  Rupert,  this  new  home?  Shall  we  be 
strangers  there  like  we  are  here?" 

The  boy  shook  his  head  gravely.  "  I  don't 
know  what  it  will  be  like,  but  it  cant  be  home, 
you  know  ;  no  place  can  be  that  any  more 
here,  now  dear  mamma  has  gone  to  the  bright 
home  above  the  sky." 

"  But  father  said  our  English  grandmother 
would  be  kind,  and  we  should  live  in  a  nice 


194  SAXBY. 

home  where  we  should  never  be  afraid  of  rude 
soldiers  coming,  or  have  to  move  away  for  fear 
of  the  town  being  burned,  as  we  had  to  do 
when  mamma  was  ill." 

Rupert  sighed — such  an  old  sigh  for  a  child  ! 
"  I  am  afraid  war  is  a  very  bad  thing  for  peo- 
ple," he  said. 

"  But  father  is  a  soldier,  and  mamma  told  us 
he  was  the  best  man  that  ever  lived,"  exclaimed 
his  sister. 

"  Yes,  yes,  that's  true  enough,  and  I  want 
to  be  a  man  to  go  and  help  my  father  in  the 
battles  ;  for  I've  heard  him  say  it  is  a  noble 
thing  to  fight  and  struggle  for  the  right ;  but 
still  I  can't  help  thinking  that  war  is  bad,  for 
it  killed  our  dear  mamma,  you  know.  She 
would  not  have  died  if  we  had  not  been 
obliged  to  move  in  such  a  hurry,  just  when 
she  was  so  ill." 

"  We  won't  talk  about  war,  then,  if  it  is  bad, 
for  I  don't  like  bad  things.  What  do  you 
think  grandmother's  house  will  be  like,  Ru- 
pert?" 

"  Father  said  it  was  a  farm-house,  with  fields 
all  round  it,  and  a  herb  garden,  and  cows  and 
chickens.  You  will  like  the  chickens,  Winny." 

"  Will  they  be  like  our  own  dear  little  Ger- 
man hens,  with  feathers  all  over  them  ?  " 


A  Strange  Meeting.  195 

Rupert  laughed.  "  Of  course  they  will.  I 
suppose  English  chickens  do  have  feathers  all 
over  them,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  servant, 
who  came  in  at  that  moment. 

"  O  yes,  sir,  they  are  pretty  much  alike 
every-where,"  he  said. 

"  Then  you  will  feel  quite  at  home  with  the 
chickens,  Winny,"  said  her  brother ;  and  then 
they  began  to  conjecture  what  the  house  would 
be  like,  and  the  English  uncles  Roger  and 
Lawrence,  and  the  grandfather  and  grand- 
mother, who  were  to  be  as  parents  to  them  un- 
til the  war  should  be  over,  and  their  father 
could  come  and  claim  them  again.  Little  did 
they  think  they  had  already  seen  their  English 
relatives  about  whom  they  had  talked  so  much 
lately. 

Master  Vane  was  almost  a  stranger  to  them, 
and  his  servants  too.  They  only  knew  him  as 
a  friend  of  their  father's,  who  had  offered  to 
bring  them  to  England  and  place  them  in  the 
care  of  friends ;  and  in  the  disturbed  state  of 
the  country  Harry  Saxby  had  thankfully  ac- 
cepted the  offer,  sending  letters  and  every 
thing  necessary  by  the  hand  of  Master  Vane, 
and  never  doubting  but  that  his  children  would 
be  as  eagerly  welcomed  in  his  old  home  as  he 
himself  would  have  been. 


196  SAXBY. 

It  had  been  arranged  between  the  servants 
and  their  master  that  they  should  go  direct  to 
his  father's  house  upon  their  arrival  in  London, 
and  there  wait  his  return  from  Buckingham- 
shire, if  he  was  not  there  to  meet  them.  But, 
in  the  present  excited  state  of  London,  it  was 
no  easy  matter  to  reach  the  Strand,  where  the 
mansion  of  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  situated,  and 
the  crowds  of  strange-looking  people  fright- 
ened the  children  so  much  that  when  at  last 
they  reached  their  destination  the  sight  of  a 
kind,  gentle,  womanly  face  quite  overcame 
them.  The  lady  happened  to  be  passing 
through  the  great  hall,  and,  thinking  she  must 
be  the  grandmother  who  was  to  be  so  kind  to 
them,  little  Winny  threw  herself  into  her  arms 
and  burst  into  tears ;  while  Rupert,  quite  for- 
getting himself  and  feeling  that  their  haven 
of  rest  was  reached  at  last,  hid  his  face  in  the 
elegant  skirt  of  her  dress  and  murmured,  "  O, 
mamma  !  mamma  !  " 

The  lady  looked  down  at  the  children  and 
then  across  at  the  servants — strangers  to  her, 
but  wearing  the  badge  of  the  Vanes. 

"  Prithee,  now,  tell  me  who  are  these  chil- 
dren ? "  she  said,  tenderly  soothing  little 
Winny,  and  laying  her  hand  on  Rupert's  head. 

The  servant  advanced  a  step  or  two  and  ex- 


The  Children  Find  a  Friend. 


A  Strange  Meeting.  199 

plained  that  they  had  been  committed  to  his 
master's  charge  by  an  English  officer  serving 
in  the  German  war,  and  he  had  gone  to  Buck- 
inghamshire to  prepare  their  relatives  for  their 
arrival. 

"  Poor  little  strangers !  And  so  you  mis- 
took me  for  your  mamma,  my  boy  ?  "  she  said, 
patting  Rupert's  head. 

The  servant  explained  that  they  did  not  un- 
derstand English,  as  Rupert  looked  up  won- 
deringly  in  her  face. 

"  Can  they  speak  French  ?  "  she  said,  and, 
without  waiting  for  the  servant's  answer,  she 
asked  if  they  were  tired  in  that  language, 
which  was  in  such  general  use  among  the  la- 
dies of  the  court  now  that  most  of  them  could 
speak  it  quite  fluently. 

It  was  his  mother's  tongue,  and  the  sound 
of  the  dear,  familiar  words  again  overcame  him 
more  even  than  his  fright  at  the  strange  crowds 
in  the  streets,  and  he  answered  with  quivering 
lips,  adding  that  his  mother  had  been  a  noble 
French  lady. 

"  Come,  then,  with  me  to  my  own  room,  and 
you  shall  tell  me  all  about  your  mother,"  she 
said  ;  and  she  led  the  children  away,  talking  to 
them  in  French,  and  leaving  the  servant  to 

dispose  of  the  luggage  and  find  his  master. 
13 


200  SAXBY. 

But  Master  Harry  Vane  had  not  returned 
from  his  journey  to  Buckinghamshire,  and  his 
father  was  so  occupied  by  his  duties  at  court, 
and  Lady  Vane  in  as  close  attendance  upon 
the  queen,  that  little  notice  would  have  been 
taken  of  the  children  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Dame  Meredith,  a  widowed  cousin  of  Lady 
Vane,  who  usually  made  her  residence  with 
the  Vanes  when  she  came  to  court. 

To  this  wealthy,  childless  widow  the  moth- 
erless children  became  a  well-spring  of  delight, 
and  they  became  almost  as  strongly  attached 
to  her.  There  was  a  tender  motherliness  about 
her  that  constantly  reminded  the  children  of 
their  own  mother,  while  the  stately  court  man- 
ners, the  elegance  of  her  dress,  and  even  the 
soft,  faded  beauty  of  her  face,  were  a  perfect 
fascination  to  Rupert.  He  soon  began  to  un- 
derstand, even  before  she  explained  it,  that 
this  could  not  be  the  English  grandmother 
who  took  care  of  the  chickens  and  made  cheese 
and  butter  ;  for  this  lady  had  a  maid  to  dress 
her  and  another  to  wait  upon  her,  and  seemed 
to  do  nothing  for  herself  except  kneel  and 
pray  in  the  little  oratory  that  opened  out  of 
her  private  sitting-room. 

Rupert  and  Winifred  had  been  taken  there 
the  second  day  after  their  arrival,  as  soon  as 


A  Strange  Meeting,  201 

the  lady  knew  that  they  had  been  taught  to 
pray.  It  was  a  very  beautiful  little  room,  Ru- 
pert thought,  with  its  purple  velvet-cushioned 
chairs,  and  the  tiny  altar  with  the  silver  can- 
dlesticks, and  the  handsomely-bound  prayer 
book  lying  between ;  but  when  the  lady  led 
them  forward,  and  told  them  to  kneel  and 
thank  God  for  bringing  them  safely  to  En- 
gland and  to  friends,  Rupert  drew  back  quick- 
ly, and  would  have  pulled  his  sister  away,  too, 
but  Winny  had  fallen  on  her  knees,  and  cov- 
ered her  face  with  her  little  hands,  as  she  used 
to  do  at  her  mother's  knee. 

"  And  why  did  not  you  kneel,  Rupert  ?  " 
asked  the  lady  a  little  sternly  when  they 
stepped  into  the  outer  room  again. 

"  My  father  has  taught  me  never  to  pray  to 
any  image,"  said  the  boy.  "  We  are  Protest- 
ants, and  I  mean  to  fight  against  the  Pope  and 
every  body  that  worships  him  by  and  by." 

"  But  I  do  not  worship  the  Pope,  dear  child. 
The  little  crucifix  above  the  prayer  book  in 
there  is  but  to  assist  me  in  my  devotions;  and 
surely  we  are  right  in  using  all  the  helps  we 
can  get  to  worship  God  '  in  the  beauty  of 
holiness.'  " 

"  I  have  looked  into  some  of  the  Popish 
Churches  in  Germany,  and  they  looked  very 


202  SAXBY. 

beautiful,  and  the  priests  were  dressed  in 
robes  of  white  and  red,  and  there  were  lights 
and  glittering  gold;  but  my  father  did  not  say 
the  people  went  there  to  worship  God  '  in  the 
beauty  of  holiness/  but  said  these  beautiful 
things  did  but  hide  God  and  make  people  for- 
get him ;  and  Master  Vane  told  us  the  same  as 
we  were  journeying  to  England." 

"  Master  Vane  has  strange  notions  about 
many  things,"  said  the  lady.  "  Not  that  I 
think  him  wrong  in  this,  or  your  father  either. 
You  have  only  made  a  mistake  in  thinking  my 
little  oratory  like  the  grand  Popish  churches. 
I  am  not  a  Papist,  as  Harry  well  knows,  but 
love  the  Church  of  England,  and  long  to  see 
it  restored  to  something  like  what  our  new 
godly  Bishop  Laud  believes  it  will  be." 

It  puzzled  Rupert  a  little  to  account  for  the 
difference  in  the  mode  of  worship  adopted  by 
the  Church  of  England  at  home  and  abroad. 
During  his  father's  visits  at  home,  when  his 
regiment  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  of 
where  they  lived,  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
go  with  him  to  what  was  known  as  "  the  En- 
glish Church,"  but  there  had  been  no  ivory  and 
gold  crucifix,  or  fringed  velvet-covered  altar 
there ;  a  few  plain  deal  seats,  a  reading-desk, 
and  a  movable  table,  where  his  father  and  a 


A  Strange  Meeting.  203 

few  others  took  their  seats  at  one  part  of  the 
service.  This  was  Rupert's  recollection  of 
that  English  Church,  and  being  an  observant, 
thoughtful  child,  he  was  not  likely  to  forget  it 
or  to  fail  to  contrast  it  with  Dame  Meredith's 
oratory,  where  she  spent  many  an  hour  of  the 
day,  leaving  them  to  amuse  themselves  in  the 
garden,  watching  the  boats  pass  to  and  fro  on 
the  Thames,  or  to  be  amused  by  one  of  her 
maids,  but  to  no  other  servant  than  her  own 
attendants  were  the  children  now  allowed  to 
speak. 


204  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DAME    MEREDITH. 

THE  movements  of  Master  Harry  Vane 
were  of  small  moment  to  his  father  just 
now.  He  had  seen  him  immediately  upon  his 
arrival  in  London,  and  knew,  therefore,  that 
he  was  safe ;  but  the  bustle  incident  upon  the 
murder  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who  had 
always  been  the  reigning  favorite  of  King 
Charles,  as  well  as  his  father,  absorbed  Sir 
Harry's  attention  just  now. 

He  may  have  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the 
two  children,  but  this  addition  to  his  large 
household  was  nothing  to  him,  and  so  nearly  a 
fortnight  passed  before  Master  Harry  Vane's 
return,  but  no  one  commented  upon  it  except 
his  own  personal  attendants,  and  they  won- 
dered where  their  master  could  be.  His  aunt, 
who  loved  her  nephew  as  much — perhaps  more 
than  his  own  mother — did  begin  to  grow  anx- 
ious for  his  return,  although  at  the  same  time 
she  dreaded  it  as  the  signal  for  her  separation 
from  the  children  who  had  so  strangely  wound 
themselves  round  her  widowed  heart.  The  day 


Dame  Meredith.  205 

came  at  last,  however,  when  Master  Harry's 
footstep  was  heard  along  the  corridor  leading 
to  his  aunt's  suite  of  apartments,  and  he  met 
the  stately  lady  with  the  same  affectionate 
deference  that  he  had  felt  for  her  as  long  as 
he  could  remember. 

"  You  look  troubled,  Harry,"  said  his  aunt 
as  soon  as  he  was  seated. 

"  I  am  troubled,  dear  aunt,  for  these  chil- 
dren's relatives  will  have  nought  to  do  with 
them." 

"  I  am  glad,  very  glad,"  said  Dame  Mere- 
dith, quickly,  "  for  now  I  can  keep  them  all  to 
myself,  and  that  is  what  I  have  been  longing 
to  do  ever  since  they  have  been  in  the  house." 

A  smile  passed  over  the  grave  face  of  the 
young  man  as  his  aunt  said  this.  "  I  know 
not  whether  this  may  be,"  he  said,  "  but  I  will 
write  to  Master  Saxby,  and  tell  him  how  ill  \ 
have  sped  on  my  errand  to  his  home." 

"  His  father  and  mother  refused  to  take  the 
sweet  children  ?  "  asked  the  lady. 

"  Nay,  nay ;  his  father  and  mother  have 
gone  to  America.  I  stayed  some  days  with  a 
neighbor  who  knew  them  well,  Master  John 
Hampden,  a  most  courteous  and  honorable 
gentleman,  who  told  me  much  about  these 
Saxbys,  and  this  Roger,  who  is  in  possession 


206  SAXBY. 

of  the  old  farm — a  churlish  and  evil  man,  I 
trow — he  must  be." 

"  Hampden,  did  you  say  this  gentleman's 
name  was?"  asked  Dame  Meredith. 

"  Yes,  aunt.     Do  you  know  aught  of  him  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  have  heard  his  name,  as  well  as 
that  of  Pym,  as  a  most  bitter  malcontent,  and 
so  I  hope,  Harry,  you  will  have  no  more  to  do 
with  him.  I  will  take  good  care  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  do  you  return  to  Oxford  without 
further  trouble  concerning  them." 

But  the  lad — he  was  scarcely  more  than  a 
lad,  hardly  seventeen  —  although  the  gentle 
gravity  of  his  face  made  him  look  much  older, 
shook  his  head  as  he  said,  "  I  want  to  talk  to 
you,  aunt,  about  this  same  Oxford  business; 
you  understand  me  better  than  any  one  else, 
I  think." 

"  I  trust  this  holiday  trip  to  Geneva  has  not 
put  you  out  of  conceit  of  your  own  university, 
Harry,"  said  the  lady. 

"  Nay,  nay,  aunt,  you  know  I  never  had  any 
liking  for  the  society  I  met  with  there,  and 
you,  yourself,  said  my  father  did  but  send  me 
that  I  might  forget  the  serious  thoughts  I 
have  had  of  late,  and  deny  the  Lord  who  hath 
redeemed  me  from  the  sin  and  the  evil  of  the 
world." 


Dame  Meredith.  207 

"  Well,  well,  Harry,  your  father  does  not 
understand  these  matters,  but  he  wishes  you 
well,  and  fears  such  seriousness  will  stand  in 
your  way  at  court." 

"  I  shall  never  be  a  courtier,"  said  Harry 
decidedly,  "for  I  cannot  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance and  supremacy  even  to  matriculate, 
and—" 

"  Harry,  Harry,  anger  not  your  father  by 
such  whimsies;  nay,  it  is  worse,  'tis  next  to 
treason  to  refuse  allegiance  to  your  king,"  said 
the  lady,  excitedly. 

"  I  was  afraid  it  would  grieve  you,  aunt,  to 
hear  what  I  had  to  say; 'but  you  understood 
all  my  doubts  and  fears  and  hopes  and — " 

"  Yes,  yes,  your  desire  to  live  a  pure  and 
godly  life  I  understand  well  enough,  and  I 
have  told  your  father  and  mother  that  they 
ought  to  thank  God  that  you  have  given  up 
the  follies  of  the  world,  and  run  not  to  the 
excess  of  riot  so  many  do  in  these  days  ;  but 
this,  Harry — I  cannot  understand  this  whim- 
sey,"  and  the  lady  shook  her  head  sadly. 

Harry  Vane  looked  scarcely  less  distressed, 
for  he  loved  his  aunt  very  dearly,  and  it  was 
mainly  through  her  influence  and  example  that 
he  had  been  led  to  decide  for  God  thus  early ; 
but  while  Dame  Meredith  had  been  living  with 


208  SAXBY. 

her  prayer  book  and  oratory,  and  giving  her- 
self up  to  the  teaching  and  guidance  of  Bishop 
Laud,  her  nephew  had  been  watching  another 
pattern  of  the  "  beauty  of  holiness  "  differing 
altogether  from  the  bishop's  ideal  concerning 
rites  and  ceremonies  and  ritual.  His  friend 
and  school-fellow,  Arthur  Hazelrig,  had  intro- 
duced him  to  Puritan  friends,  and  now  this 
short  stay  with  Hampden  and  Pym  had  con- 
firmed him  in  his  liking  for  the  plain,  simple, 
unadorned  service  of  the  Puritans,  while  the 
lives  and  bearing  of  the  men  he  had  met  with 
among  these  new  friends,  contrasting  so  strong- 
ly with  the  self-seeking  displayed  by  almost 
all  he  had  ever  met  before,  could  not  but  im- 
press the  deeply-observant  mind  of  young 
Vane. 

But  trouble  would  come  of  it  he  knew.  His 
father  was  fully  aware  of  his  rare  ability,  and 
was  anxious  that  he  should  push  his  fortunes 
at  court  as  soon  as  possible,  and  he  had  been 
sent  to  Oxford  to  learn  a  few  fashionable  vices, 
that  he  might  hold  his  own  among  the  witty 
young  court  gallants.  But  a  residence  of  a  few 
months  as  gentleman  commoner  had  been 
enough  for  Harry,  and  his  trip  to  the  conti- 
nent had  only  made  him  more  anxious  to  spend 
a  year  at  Geneva  instead  of  Oxford.  He  wanted 


Dame  Meredith.  209 

his  aunt  to  undertake  the  difficult  business  of 
\vinning  his  father's  consent  to  this  plan. 

"  But  I  don't  like  it  myself,  Harry,"  said  the 
lady,  after  he  had  spent  some  time  explaining 
and  persuading  her  to  see  things  as  he  did. 
"  All  these  Puritans  talk  about  is  the  making 
of  our  beloved  Church  after  the  pattern  of 
that  at  Geneva,  and  your  friendship  for  these 
malcontents  will  not  fail  to  anger  your  father, 
especially  if  he  should  hear  of  your  visit  to 
this  Hampden.  I  believe  he  was  one  of  those 
imprisoned  for  refusing  the  king's  loan,  and 
only  lately  released." 

"  Yes,  he  was  one  of  those  brave  men," 
quietly  answered  Harry. 

.     "  Brave  you  call  it !     I  should  say  disloyal," 
retorted  his  aunt. 

"  Now,  aunt,  don't  you  be  angry  with  me. 
You  have  always  been  my  good  friend,  and  I 
trust  to  you  to  smooth  the  way  with  my  fa- 
ther. I  wish  you  could  see  and  know  this 
Master  Hampden  and  his  friend  Pym,"  he 
suddenly  added. 

"  Why  should  you  wish  it  ?  Is  not  one  mal- 
content enough  in  a  loyal  family  ?  " 

"  You  would  not  call  them  malcontents  if 
you  could  only  see  and  know  them.  I  did 
wish  you  could  kneel  with  me  when  all  the 


2io  SAXBY. 

family  gathered  together  in  the  keeping-room 
for  prayers  and  reading  God's  word.  It  seemed 
like  the  patriarchal  times  over  again,  when  the 
father  was  the  king  and  priest,  and  brought 
all  his  family  and  servants  to  receive  God's 
blessing.  The  lives  of  these  men  are  in  accord 
with  their  prayers ;  and  so  far  from  being 
law-breakers,  they  do  but  seek  to  uphold  the 
law  against  those  who  would  trample  it  under 
foot." 

"  Harry,  Harry,  I  believe  you  are  more  than 
half  a  Puritan  yourself,"  said  the  lady  in 
dismay. 

"  Dear  aunt,  you  would  be  the  same  if  you 
had  seen  what  I  have,"  said  Harry,  without 
denying  the  imputation.  She  looked  at  him 
in  his  handsome  slashed  doublet  and  long, 
curling  hair,  and  thought  what  heights  of  fame 
and  honor  he  might  reach  if  only  he  were  more 
pliant,  more  yielding  and  worldly ;  but  she 
knew  him  well  enough  to  feel  assured  that  if 
once  he  ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  the 
"  country  party,"  as  it  was  called,  wealth, 
honor,  fame,  ease — all  that  could  tempt  a  man 
in  this  life  —  would  be  spurned  at  the  dic- 
tates of  conscience  ;  and  she  set  herself  at 
once  to  the  task  of  undoing  the  mischief  she 
feared  had  already  gone  too  far.  This  visit  to 


Dame  Meredith.  2 1 1 

Hampden  about  the  young  Saxbys  had  brought 
down  the  wavering  balance  on  the  wrong  side, 
and  she  must  rectify  it  if  she  possibly  could. 
So  she  appealed  to  the  lad's  loyalty  and  per- 
sonal liking  for  the  king,  and  his  love  for  mother 
and  father  and  brothers  and  sisters,  whose  in- 
terests would  all  be  injured,  she  said,  if  he 
ranged  himself  among  the  enemies  of  the 
king  and  court.  But,  although  he  was  deeply 
touched,  young  Vane  could  not  be  brought  to 
yield.  "  It  is  as  much  a  matter  of  conscience 
and  of  right  as  serving  God.  Nay,  nay,  it  is 
serving  God  in  another  way,"  he  added. 

"  But  what  have  these  men  to  complain  of?  " 
demanded  Dame  Meredith.  "  We  have  plen- 
tiful harvests,  our  commerce  is  large  and  flour- 
ishing, and  if  taxes  are  somewhat  high,  the 
people  can  afford  to  pay  them,  for  they  never 
were  so  well  off  before  as  they  are  now.  What 
have  they  to  complain  of,  Harry?"  she  re- 
peated. 

"  Why,  this,  aunt,  that  they  are  slowly  but 
surely  being  robbed  of  their  liberty  ;  that  the 
king  assumes  more  and  more  power  to  himself 
as  the  right  of  his  prerogative,  and  the  whole 
realm  is  treated  as  though  it  were  an  estate 
to  be  farmed  for  his  benefit ;  and  last,  but  not 
least,  that  the  Reformation  in  England  has 


SAXBY. 

been  arrested  before  it  has  accomplished  all 
that  it  has  done  for  the  Church  of  Geneva  in 
purifying  it  from  Roman  mummeries." 

"  But,  my  dear,  our  learned  and  holy  Bish- 
op Laud  says  that  much  that  was  done  by 
these  Reformers  in  the  days  of  King  Harry 
was  a  deformation,  and  he  would  fain  bring 
back—" 

"  The  Roman  ritual,"  interrupted  Harry. 
"  I  heard  of  the  rejoicing  at  Rome,  and  how 
the  Pope  was  preparing  to  welcome  us  as  a 
Roman  Catholic  nation  once  more." 

"  My  dear,  the  Pope  is  mistaken,  but  it  is 
not  very  wonderful,  for  Queen  'Mary  here  made 
the  same  mistake,  while  others  felt  equally 
afraid  of  what  the  bishop  was  teaching ;  but 
men's  minds  are  set  at  rest  now,  for  it  is  only 
in  a  few  outward  observances  that  he  would 
alter  our  Church  services  to  make  them  accord 
with  that  '  beauty  of  holiness  '  he  is  so  anxious 
to  bring  back  to  our  beloved  Church.  Ah,  if 
the  good  bishop  could  only  have  his  way  in 
every  thing !  "  sighed  the  lady. 

"  He  and  the  king  would  divide  the  power 
between  them.  He  would  uphold  the  king  in 
all  his  unconstitutional  attempts  to  rob  the 
people  of  their  civil  liberty,  while  the  king 
would  aid  him  to  create  himself  another  pope 


Dame  Meredith.  2 1 3 

in  spiritual  matters.  A  whisper  of  this  has  al- 
ready gone  abroad  ;  that  he  will  take  Buck- 
ingham's place  as  the  king's  adviser  ;  but  they 
must  be  careful,  for  such  men  as  Hampden 
and  Pym  and  Sir  John  Eliot  are  not  to  be 
trifled  with,  and  liberty  is  dearer  than  wealth 
or  fame  to  any  true  Englishman." 

Further  conversation,  however,  was  stopped 
by  a  little  cough  from  Rupert  Saxby,  which 
was  the  first  intimation  they  had  received  of 
the  children  being  in  the  room.  Harry  Vane 
held  out  his  hand  and  beckoned  the  boy  for- 
ward. "  How  would  you  like  to  stay  here, 
Rupert,  with  this  lady  ?  "  he  asked. 

The  boy  looked  at  him,  and  then  at  Dame 
Meredith.  "  I  should  like  to  go  to  my  gran- 
dam,  I  think.  Winny  wants  to  see  the  cows 
and  hens,"  he  said. 

"  Winny  shall  see  cows  and  hens  and  have 
a  little  white  lamb  to  play  with  when  we  go 
to  Raby  Castle,"  said  the  lady,  coaxingly,  and 
drawing  Winny  close  to  her. 
f  "Will  it  be  my  very  own?"  whispered  the 
little  girl,  raising  her  sweet  mouth  to  be  kissed. 

"  Yes,  darling,  your  very  own.  You  will  stay 
with  me  always,  wont  you?"  almost  begged 
the  lady. 

For  answer,  Winny  threw  her  arms  round 


214  SAXBY. 

the  lady's  neck,  whispering,  "  Yes,  I  will  stay, 
if  Rupert  may  stay  with  me." 

"  And  what  says  Master  Rupert  ? "  asked 
Harry  Vane,  looking  into  the  boy's  grave,  ear- 
nest eyes. 

"  My  father  said  I  was  to  go  to  my  grand- 
dame,"  said  the  boy,  dubiously. 

"Yes,  my  lad,  he  did;  and  I  would  have 
taken  you  ere  now,  as  I  promised  your  father, 
but  these  good  friends  of  yours  have  gone  to 
America.  I  saw  a  noble  gentleman,  their 
neighbor  and  friend,  who  told  me  all  about  it. 
Master  Hampden  knew  your  father  too,  and  I 
have  promised  to  take  you  to  see  him  one  day ; 
but,  for  the  present,  it  must  content  you  to 
abide  here  with  your  sister.  This  dear  lady, 
my  aunt,  will  take  good  care  of  you  both. 
Will  it  content  you  to  stay?" 

"  Would  my  father  wish  it,  sir?"  asked  Ru- 
pert, thinking  of  Dame  Meredith's  oratory, 
which  he  persisted  in  esteeming  a  popish 
chapel. 

"  Yes,  my  boy,  I  am  sure  your  father  will  be 
glad  to  hear  you  have  found  a  good  home 
and  kind  friends  in  England,  for  he  cannot 
take  care  of  you  himself  in  Germany,  while 
he  is  fighting  with  the  brave  King  Gustavus 
Adolphus." 


Dame  Meredith.  215 

"  And  may  I  learn  to  be  a  soldier  while  I 
am  here?"  asked  Rupert. 

"  I  hope  you  will  learn  many  things  besides 
the  duty  of  a  soldier,  my  boy;  my  aunt  will  see 
to  all  these  things  for  you,"  added  Harry  Vane. 

"  But  I  must  learn  to  be  a  soldier  to  help 
my  father  in  the  battles ;  for  he  is  fighting  for 
the  truth  of  God  and  liberty  of  conscience,  as 
well  as  for  the  elector  against  the  Pope  and 
emperor,"  said  Rupert,  quickly. 

"  Well,  my  boy,  if  this  long  war  lasts  so  long, 
I  hope  you  will  be  a  brave  true  soldier,  like 
your  father;  but,  you  know,  that  since  the 
brave  King  Gustavus  has  come  to  their  help 
they  have  gained  so  many  victories  that  we 
are  hoping  this  dreadful  war  will  soon  be  over, 
and  then  your  father  and  many  other  English 
gentlemen  will  return  home." 

"  If  it  will  content  you  better  you  shall  learn 
the  use  of  sword  and  single-stick  and  all  mar- 
tial exercises,"  said  Dame  Meredith ;  "  and  at 
our  castle  of  Raby  you  will  meet  with  many 
old  men  who  have  been  soldiers,  like  your 
father,  and  they  will  teach  you  many  things 
of  that  icind  an  you  want  to  learn." 

"  And  you  shall  see  my  pretty  white  lamb, 
Rupert,"  added  his  sister,  from  her  cozy  seat 

on  Dame  Meredith's  lap. 
14 


216  SAXBY. 

So  the  matter  was  settled,  and  so  far  rati- 
fied by  the  children  themselves.  A  week  or 
two  later  Harry  sent  a  letter  by  special  mes- 
senger to  Captain  Saxby,  telling  him  of  his 
parents'  departure  for  the  new  colony  of  Amer- 
ica, and  the  adoption  of  the  children  by  his 
aunt,  until  he  could  return  and  claim  them; 
adding,  however,  that  he  had  at  last  gained  his 
father's  permission  to  spend  a  year  at  Geneva, 
and  would  bring  the  children  with  him  when 
he  journeyed  thither  if  he  wished  it ;  at  the 
same  time  advising  that  they  should  be  left 
with  their  kind  friend,  as  they  were  very  happy 
and  well  content  to  stay. 


Harry  Vane.  217 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

HARRY  VANE. 

CAPTAIN  SAXBY  heard  of  the  depart- 
^— '  ure  of  his  parents  for  the  new  colony  in 
America  before  Master  Harry  Vane's  letter 
reached  him.  Master  Saxby  had  written  a 
day  or  two  before  he  left  England,  and  the 
letter  had  followed  the  march  of  the  conquer- 
ing army  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  but  at  rather 
a  slow  rate ;  so  that  it  was  only  a  short  time 
before  Harry  Vane's  messenger  reached  him 
that  his  father's  letter  came  to  hand. 

Of  course,  he  could  not  have  his  children 
with  him,  and  so  he  wisely  decided  to  let  them 
remain  with  their  new-found  friends.  Before, 
therefore,  Harry  Vane  departed  for  Geneva 
Rupert  and  Winny  went  with  Dame  Meredith 
to  Raby  Castle,  in  Durham.  But  they  did  not 
remain  there  long,  for  Dame  Meredith  fancied 
it  did  not  suit  little  Winny  to  live  in  the  bleak 
North,  so  they  removed  to  London  again,  and 
then  to  the  lady's  own  house,  at  Hadlow,  in 
Kent,  where  the  Vanes  also  had  a  country- 
seat,  and  where  the  children  usually  resided. 


2 1 8  SAXBY. 

They  were  living  here  when  Harry  returned 
from  Geneva  the  following  year,  bringing  news 
of  their  father  and  the  German  war,  but  little 
hope  of  its  speedy  close  as  yet.  The  day  that 
he  arrived  Winny  was  in  sad  trouble.  She  had 
been  helping  Dame  Meredith  in  washing  and 
clear  starching  that  lady's  laces  and  ruffles,  and 
now  her  little  fingers  were  smarting  and  tingling 
from  the  soap.  Dame  Meredith  was  trying  to 
soothe  her,  and  allay  the  pain  of  her  inflamed  fin- 
gers, when  her  nephew  Harry  was  announced. 

"  Why,  how  now,  my  little  wench,"  said  the 
young  man,  stooping  to  the  little  girl  as  she 
sat  in  his  aunt's  lap. 

Dame  Meredith  seemed  upon  the  point  of 
crying,  too,  as  she  held  up  the  little  inflamed 
fingers  for  him  to  look  at. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  any  thing  so  dreadful, 
Harry?  And  it  is  all  through  that  new  soap 
that  we  are  obliged  to  use." 

"  New  soap,"  repeated  Harry  Vane  in  some 
bewilderment. 

"  Yes,  my  dear,  have  you  not  heard  what  an 
ado  all  the  washerwomen  are  making  about  it? 
Last  week  the  Lord  Mayor  and  governor  of 
the  Tower  had  two  grand  washing-days  at 
Guildhall,  one  day  with  the  old  soap  and  the 
next  with  the  new." 


Harry  Vane.  219 

Harry  looked  at  his  aunt  for  a  minute,  as  if 
to  assure  himself  that  he  heard  aright,  or  that 
it  was  his  same  sensible  aunt  speaking  to  him, 
and  then  burst  into  a  hearty  fit  of  laughter. 

"  It  is  nothing  to  laugh  about,  Harry — this 
monopoly  upon  the  soap" — she  said,  "for  we 
cannot  buy  any  other  now ;  and  just  look  at 
this  poor  little  wench's  fingers,"  and  Winny, 
finding  so  much  pity  was  forthcoming  on  her 
behalf,  burst  into  a  fresh  flood  of  tears. 

"  Hush,  hush,  my  little  wench,  that  nice 
cooling  balsam  will  make  your  fingers  well," 
said  Harry  Vane,  offering  to  take  the  child  on 
his  knee.  But  she  clung  the  closer  to  Dame 
Meredith,  who  kissed  and  fondled  her  and 
promised  her  some  conserve  if  she  would  be 
quiet. 

"  Where  is  brother  Rupert  ?  "  asked  Harry, 
thinking  this  might  turn  the  child's  thoughts 
into  another  channel. 

"  Gone,"  sobbed  Winny ;  "and  it's  all  through 
this  nasty  new  soap." 

"  Why,  has  it  washed  him  away,"  asked 
Harry  Vane,  laughing  still. 

"  No ;  I  have  been  obliged  to  send  him  out 
of  the  room  because  he  spoke  disloyally  of  the 
king,"  said  Dame  Meredith. 

"And  he  is  a  naughty  king  to   make  us 


220  SAXBY. 

use  bad  soap ;  Rupert  said  he  was,"  persisted 
Winny. 

"  Hush,  hush,  little  one.  There,  go  to  Dor 
othy,  and  she  will  find  you  a  large  apple,"  and 
Dame  Meredith  sent  the  little  girl  out  of  the 
room. 

"  I  feel  almost  as  angry  as  the  children, 
Harry,  about  this  soap  business,"  she  said  as 
she  sat  down  again.  "  It  is  nothing  but  lime 
and  tallow,  scalding  the  fingers  and  destroying 
the  linen,  and  yet  a  proclamation  has  been  sent 
out  forbidding  any  to  make  complaint  against 
it,  or  to  use  any  other,  for  fear  of  injury  to  the 
monopoly." 

"And  the  lord  mayor's  washing  days — what 
came  of  them  ?  "  laughed  Harry. 

"  Of  course  they  backed  up  the  new  soap 
as  the  best,  and  there  is  a  monopoly  upon 
almost  every  thing  now  since  the  last  Parlia- 
ment was  dissolved — soap,  and  salt,  and  starch, 
and  coals,  buttons,  and  hats,  and  combs,  and 
twenty  other  things  besides,"  said  Dame  Mere- 
dith, indignantly." 

"And  they  are  likely  to  -last,  for  I  hear  the 
king  has  determined  to  govern  without  a  Par- 
liament in  future,"  said  Harry,  "  and  several 
of  the  patriots  are  in  prison — Sir  John  Eliot 
in  the  Tower." 


Harry  Vane.  221 

"  How  can  you  call  these  men  patriots, 
Harry?"  she  demanded  angrily;  for  this  new 
soap,  having  skinned  her  darling's  fingers, 
touched  her  very  keenly;  but  she  was  not 
ready  to  admit  that  the  king  or  his  council 
was  in  fault.  "  If  it  were  not  for  these  men 
— Eliot,  and  Pym,  and  Hampden,  and  their 
friends  —  the  king  would  not  be  driven  to 
granting  these  monopolies ;  but  since  they 
refuse  to  lend  him  their  money,  or  grant  him 
supplies  and  subsidies,  what  can  he  do  but 
make  it  by  selling  monopolies  on  every  thing 
we  use  ?  and  then  you  call  these  men  pa- 
triots !  " 

"  Now,  aunt,  you  are  not  just  to  blame 
Hampden  and  the  country  party  for  these 
wretched  extortions.  It  is  these  very  things, 
and  the  king's  illegal  use  of  the  royal  prerog- 
ative, that  have  provoked  their  opposition  to 
him.  If  he  will  but  deal  truly,  and  rule  his 
realm  lawfully,  he  will  have  no  more  loyal 
subjects  than  Pym  and  Hampden,  and  those 
who  follow  their  lead ;  for  they  are  conscien- 
tious, God-fearing  men,  who  will  do  the  right 
without  fear  or  favor." 

"  Dear  heart,  Harry,  I  am  afraid  your  jour- 
ney to  Geneva  has  been  of  little  use  in  ridding 
you  of  these  strange  notions,"  sighed  his  aunt. 


222  SAXBY. 

"  Nay,  but  I  have  learned  many  things  at 
Geneva  of  which  I  had  little  knowledge  be- 
fore, and  I  would  that  our  bishops  would 
frame  our  Church  after  that  of  Geneva." 

"  That  can  never  be,"  said  the  lady.  "  Our 
good  Bishop  of  London,  who  will,  doubtless, 
soon  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  is  framing 
our  Church  on  a  different  model  from  the 
schismatic  Church  of  Geneva.  He  would  fain 
see  it  a  perfect  Church,  and  all  men  made 
conformable  to  it — perfect  in  the  '  beauty  of 
holiness/  "  added  Dame  Meredith  ;  but  which 
really  meant  beauty  of  ritual,  according  to 
Laud's  ideas  of  what  that  ritual  should  be. 

"  It  is  a  vain  dream,  dear  aunt,  this  making 
all  men  conformable  to  one  Church,  even  if  it 
could  be  a  perfect  one,"  said  Harry  Vane 
quietly. 

His  aunt  looked  her  astonishment.  "  You 
would  make  all  men  conform  to  the  Church 
of  Geneva,"  she  said  quietly. 

"  Nay,  aunt,  I  am  not  sure  that  I  should 
wish  to  try,  and  if  I  did  I  am  sure  I  should 
not  succeed,"  said  Harry. 

"  But — but  when  a  perfect  Church  has  been 
discovered  men  ought  to  conform  to  it,"  said 
Dame  Meredith. 

"  If  they  could   believe   it   was   a   perfect 


Harry  Vane.  223 

Church,  doubtless  they  would,  dear  aunt.  I 
have  been  thinking  much  of  this  matter  of 
late,  and  I  believe  every  man  has  the  right  to 
follow  the  divine  voice  within  him — the  voice 
of  conscience — in  this  matter.  All  men  will 
not,  cannot,  think  alike.  God  has  not  in- 
tended that  they  should.  He  has  not  made 
two  leaves  of  the  forest  trees,  even  on  the 
same  tree,  exactly  alike,  or  two  blades  of 
grass,  or  ears  of  corn ;  and  there  is  the  same 
diversity  in  men's  minds,  I  trow." 

Harry  had  thought  his  aunt  must  have  lost 
her  wits  when  she  told  him  about  the  Lord 
Mayor's  washing  days,  but  his  astonishment 
was  as  nothing  to  the  profound  dismay  Dame 
Meredith  felt  at  her  nephew's  last  words. 
Such  a  thing  as  religious  toleration  for  any 
but  their  own  particular  Church,  was  some- 
thing unheard  of.  Each  claimed  this  as  his 
right,  but  denied  it  to  all  who  differed  from 
him  in  this  seventeenth  century,  and  the  bold, 
brave  words  Harry  Vane  had  spoken  —  and 
which  he  was  not  slow  to  act  upon  when  the 
time  came — looked,  to  his  aunt,  like  heartless- 
ness  or  laxity  that  was  most  dangerous. 

"  Well,  well,"  she  said  at  last, "  did  you  learn 
this  new  notion  at  Geneva,  Harry?"  I  thought 
they  wanted  all  men  to  worship  after  their  pat- 


224  SAXBY. 

tern.  Those  stubborn  Scotch  are  not  of  this 
mind,  for  they  would  fain  make  all  men  Pres- 
byterians." 

"  It  is  the  fault  of  this  age,  I  trow,  dear 
aunt,  and  an  error  many  good  men  fall  into. 
Doubtless  these  Puritan  Brownists,  or  Inde- 
pendents, as  they  now  call  themselves — men 
who  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things  for 
conscience'  sake,  and  left  home  and  friends 
here  for  unknown  hardships  in  the  new  colony 
in  America — would  fain  make  all  men  Inde- 
pendents if  they  could ;  but  I  trust  they  will 
learn  true  liberty  in  the  land  to  which  they 
have  gone.  Aunt,  I  should  like  to  go  out  to 
this  new  colony  in  America,"  added  the  young 
man. 

Had  he  said  he  should  like  to  turn  Moham- 
medan, and  go  and  live  with  the  Grand  Turk, 
at  Constantinople,  it  would  scarcely  have 
surprised  his  aunt  after  what  she  had  already 
heard.  She  was  deeply  grieved,  too.  Harry 
was  her  favorite  among  all  her  nephews  and 
nieces,  and  she  had  indulged  such  high  hopes 
concerning  him,  especially  since  he  had  evinced 
such  decided  piety ;  for  in  her  mind's  eye  she 
saw  him  brave,  witty,  prosperous,  a  bright  par- 
ticular star  in  the  court  of  King  Charles,  but 
moving  in  it  with  unsullied  purity  of  mind  and 


Harry  Vane.  225 

manner,  drawing  all  men  to  him,  and  to  God, 
by  the  force  of  his  bright  example.  A  pleas- 
ant dream  this  had  been  to  the  lady;  but  she 
feared  it  would  never  be  a  reality  now,  unless 
Sir  Harry  could  prevail  upon  his  son  to  give 
up  some  of  these  strange  notions. 

There  was  a  silence  between  them  after 
Harry  had  expressed  his  wish  to  go  to  New 
England,  and  then  his  aunt  said,  "You  will 
excuse  me,  Harry,  now;  it  is  the  hour  I  spend 
in  my  oratory.  Come  to  me  again  by  and  by." 

Harry  knew  that  it  was  to  pray  for  him,  and 
what  she  feared  was  his  sad  declension,  that 
she  spent  so  long  a  time  in  the  little  chapel ; 
for  he  did  not  go  home  when  his  aunt  left 
him,  but  went  in  search  of  Rupert  Saxby. 

The  whole  household  seemed  in  a  ferment 
to-day  over  this  soap  business,  for  Dame 
Meredith's  maid  had  her  fingers  tied  up,  and 
there  were  sounds  of  scolding  and  grumbling 
from  the  laundry  as  he  passed  on  his  way  to 
the  garden,  where  he  had  been  told  the  chil- 
dren were  walking.  He  found  them^ sitting 
together  in  a  retired  arbor,  Rupert  trying  to 
coax  Winny  to  play,  while  the  little  girl  was 
still  fretting  and  complaining  about  her  sore 
fingers,  which  Dorothy  had  tied  up  in  some 
linen  rags.  Harry  sat  down  on  the  seat,  and 


226  SAXBY. 

took  Winny  on  his  knee,  condoling  with  her 
about  her  sore  fingers,  which  at  once  loosened 
Rupert's  tongue  about  the  soap.  Dorothy,  as 
well  as  Dame  Meredith,  had  scolded  him  for 
speaking  so  angrily  against  the  king  and  those 
who  had  bought  the  monopoly  and  made  such 
bad  soap  ;  but  he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings 
afresh  now,  using  no  very  measured  language, 
either,  to  express  his  anger. 

Harry  Vane  was  astonished  to  hear  him, 
and  feared  that  his  aunt  must,  by  her  over- 
indulgence, be  spoiling  the  children.  Those 
were  the  days  when  children  were  not  merely 
supposed  to  be  seen  and  not  heard,  but  when 
it  was  an  accomplished  fact.  That  it  was  not 
so  with  the  little  Saxbys  showed  a  great  want 
of  moral  training,  thought  Harry  Vane,  and 
it  vexed  and  troubled  him  exceedingly. 

Rupert  was  a  boy  of  fine  promise,  thought- 
ful beyond  his  years,  generous  and  loving,  and 
wisely  trained.  These  good  qualities  might, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  made  a  blessing  to 
others— so  ran  Harry  Vane's  thoughts,  as  he 
talked  and  listened  to  the  children,  inwardly 
wondering  what  he  ought  to  do — what  it  was 
his  duty  to  do  under  these  circumstances.  He 
had  no  love  for  stirring  up  strife  and  oppo- 
sition, and  he  feared  he  should  do  this  only 


Harry  Vane.  227 

too  well  on  his  own  account,  without  offend- 
ing and  paining  his  aunt  by  removing  the  chil- 
dren from  her  care.  Then  again,  where  could 
he  take  them,  for  the  slender  pittance  Captain 
Saxby  could  afford  to  pay  for  them,  if  called 
upon  to  do  so,  would  not  be  sufficient. 

At  length  he  decided  to  pay  another  visit 
to  Master  Hampden,  and  take  Rupert  with 
him,  and  perhaps  this  old  friend  of  the  Sax- 
bys  could  suggest  some  plan  —  might  even 
offer  to  take  Rupert  for  a  time.  Rupert  was 
his  chief  anxiety.  A  little  spoiling  would  not 
matter  so  much  in  Winny's  case,  he  thought, 
and  so  he  decided  to  talk  to  his  aunt  about 
this  at  once. 

Leaving  the  children  to  their  play,  he  saun- 
tered back  to  the  house,  but  still  had  to  wait 
some  time  for  his  aunt,  who  had  not  yet  left 
her  oratory,  her  maid  informed  him.  As  soon 
as  she  came  in  Harry  noticed  the  calm,  peace- 
ful expression  of  her  placid  face,  that  had 
looked  so  ruffled  and  troubled  when  she  left 
him,  and  the  thought  instantly  crossed  his 
mind,  "  how  can  I  say  hard  things  about  this 
ritual,  and  times,  and  ceremonies,  when  I  see 
what  a  help  it  is  to  one  devout  soul  ?  "  Ah, 
Dame  Meredith,  when  she  blamed  her  nephew 
for  the  broad,  liberal,  Christlike  spirit  which 


228  SAXDY. 

she  in  her  Tearfulness  looked  upon  as  laxity,  if 
not  actual  license,  little  thought  how  much 
her  example  had  to  do  with  planting  and  fos- 
tering it. 

"  Now,  my  dear,  you  will  tell  me  about  your 
travels,"  she  said,  taking  a  stiff,  high-backed, 
but  handsomely-embroidered,  chair,  and  invit- 
ing her  nephew  to  one  close  to  it. 

"Well,  aunt,  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about 
another  journey  I  am  anxious  to  take  at  once, 
before  my  father  returns  from  his  mission  to 
Sweden.  You  remember  before  I  went  away 
last  year  I  told  you  that  I  promised  one  of 
Captain  Saxby's  friends  that  he  should  see 
these  children." 

"  Who  is  this  friend  ? "  asked  the  lady 
quickly.  "  He  will  not  want  to  take  the  chil- 
dren from  me,  I  hope,"  she  added. 

"  I  only  wish  to  take  Rupert  with  me  now. 
I  told  you  Master  Hampden  was  an  old  friend 
of  the  family,  and  I  had  promised  the  boy 
should  pay  him  a  long  visit." 

Dame  Meredith's  face  grew  troubled.  "  I 
wish  you  would  not  go  to  this  man.  Take 
the  boy  anywhere  else  you  like,  Harry- — I  can 
trust  you  fully — but  why  should  you  take  him 
to  this  Master  Hampden,  who  is  one  of  the 
bitterest  of  these  malcontents  ?  " 


Harry  Vane.  229 

"  He  is  his  father's  friend,  dear  aunt,"  said 
Harry  in  a  soothing  tone. 

"  But  why  not  let  the  children  remain  with 
me  until  their  father  comes  home?" 

"  Because — dear  aunt,  I  do  not  wish  to  pain 
you,  but  there  are  many  reasons  why  it  would 
be  best  for  Rupert  to  pay  this  visit  to  Master 
Hampden  now,"  said  the  young  man. 

"  Then  you  are  determined  to  take  him,  I 
suppose  ?  " 

"  His  father  would  wish  it,  I  am  sure,  and, 
therefore,  I  feel  bound  to  carry  out  his 
wishes." 

"  But  you  will  not  take  my  little  darling, 
Winny,"  said  the  lady  almost  imploringly. 

"  No,  I  will  leave  Winny  with  you,  and, 
doubtless,  Rupert  will  return  in  a  few  months, 
or  even  weeks." 

"  One  thing  more,  Harry — you  will  spend 
Sunday  with  me  ?  "  said  Dame  Meredith. 

"  Yes,  aunt,  if  you  wish  it,  certainly,"  said 
Harry,  glad  to  please  his  aunt  in  something ; 
and  so  it  was  settled  that  he  and  Rupert 
should  start  on  their  journey  to  Buckingham- 
shire the  following  Monday. 


230  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BITTER  DISAPPOINTMENTS. 

IF  Dame  Meredith  and  Harry  Vane  could 
only  have  known  what  painful  memories 
this  Sunday  at  Hadlow  Church  was  destined 
to  give  rise  to,  each  would  have  been  most 
careful  to  avoid  it,  but  Dame  Meredith  had 
persuaded  herself  that  there  was,  at  least, 
some  small  good  in  her  nephew's  lax  notions 
about  men's  conformity  to  the  Church  ;  for  if 
he  held  that  they  might  worship  God  after 
any  pattern,  he  would  not  be  so  violent  in  his 
opposition  to  the  changes  gradually  being  in- 
troduced by  Bishop  Laud,  and  surely  he  would 
see  that  the  new  mode  of  administering  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  more  reverent — more  in 
accordance  with  the  beauty  of  holiness. 

Harry  had  not  been  into  the  parish  church 
since  these  changes  had  been  made,  and  he 
stared  in  amazement  as  he  walked  up  the  aisle 
to  the  railed-off  family  pew  of  the  Vanes,  and 
saw  that  a  table  had  been  set  up  at  the  end  of 
the  chancel,  furnished  like  an  altar,  and  sep- 


Bitter  Disappointments.  231 

arated  from  the  rest  of  the  church  by  a  raised 
step,  and  railings  around  it. 

He  had  no  opportunity  of  questioning  his 
aunt  or  any  one  else  until  the  communion  serv- 
ice commenced,  and  then,  instead  of  the  long, 
movable  table  being  placed  in  the  center  of 
the  church,  around  which  the  communicants 
stood  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  he  saw, 
to  his  profound  astonishment,  that  they  kneeled 
around  the  railings  that  guarded  the  altar-like 
table. 

"  Another  step  and  we  shall  have  the  mass 
itself  set  up  in  our  midst,"  he  said  half  aloud, 
as  he  watched  his  aunt  take  her  place  among 
the  kneeling  communicants.  Harry  had  fully 
intended  partaking  in  this  sacred  feast,  but  he 
could  not,  would  not  kneel.  To  him  and  to 
hundreds  of  others  this  posture  savored  too 
much  of  idolatry;  it  was  too  much  like  the 
adoration  of  the  host,  and  in  the  recoil  from 
popery  and  the  dread  fear  of  its  return  which 
possessed  so  many  just  now,  they  would  not 
yield  an  inch  by  which  the  enemy  might  gain 
an  advantage. 

Dame  Meredith  looked  sorely  pained  when 
she  saw  that  her  nephew  did  not  go  forward 
with  the  rest,  and  as  soon  as  the  service  was 

over  and  they  had  reached  the  church-yard, 
15 


232  SAXBY. 

she  exclaimed,  "  O,  Harry,  Harry,  I  am  sorely 
grieved  !  Why  did  you  not  kneel  with  me  to- 
day at  the  blessed  sacrament  ?  " 

"  I,  too,  was  grieved  and  sorely  disappoint- 
ed," said  the  young  man  with  a  deep-drawn 
sigh,  "  for  it  seems  to  me  that  this  Church 
of  England  is  growing  more  Romish  every 
day." 

"  Nay,  nay,  it  is  not  Romish,  but  reverent 
and  becoming  to  kneel  when  we  partake  of 
the  blessed  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,"  said  Dame  Meredith,  quickly. 

"  I  cannot  kneel  —  I  cannot  worship  this 
bread  and  wine,  as  though  it  were  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  himself,"  said  Harry. 

"  But — but,  you  told  me  a  day  or  two  since 
you  believed  God  would  accept  the  worship 
of  a  sincere  and  devout  soul,  whatever  the 
form  of  worship  might  be,"  objected  his 
aunt. 

"  And  I  do  believe  it,  provided  the  worship 
be  rendered  according  to  a  man's  conscience," 
said  Harry ;  "  but  I  should  sorely  wound  my 
conscience  to  kneel  for  this  service  where  I 
have  always  stood  ;  and,  God  helping  me,  I 
never  will,"  he  added  solemnly. 

"  O,  Harry,  Harry !  it  will  sorely  grieve  your 
father  and  the  king.  You  cannot  think  that 


Bitter  Disappointments.  233 

so  many  devout  and  godly  men  as  follow  this 
way  would  do  wrong." 

"  I  judge  no  man  but  myself,"  said  Harry, 
"  and  I  can  believe  in  the  truth  and  devotion 
of  many  pious  souls  who  conform  to  this  fash- 
ion, but  I  cannot  do  it." 

Dame  Meredith  sighed  as  she  looked  at  her 
impracticable  nephew,  and  thought  of  the 
trouble  in  store  for  them  all.  She  went  home 
and  spent  an  hour  or  two  in  her  oratory,  pray- 
ing for  the  high-souled,  but,  as  she  thought, 
wrong-headed  young  man,  who  must,  by  mere 
force  of  character,  be  such  a  power  in  the 
world  for  good  or  evil ;  and  as  Dame  Mere- 
dith looked  upon  those  who  opposed  the  king 
and  all-powerful  bishop  as  very  evil,  she  was 
the  more  earnest  that  her  nephew  should  be 
saved  from  such  wiles.  She  decided  to  see 
the  bishop,  too,  and  talk  to  him  about  Harry. 
Surely  a  few  words  from  him  would  bring  the 
wanderer  back  to  the  fold  ;  and  so  as  soon  as 
Harry  and  Rupert,  with  the  attendant  serv- 
ants, had  started  on  their  journey  to  Bucking- 
hamshire, Dame  Meredith  gave  orders  to  her 
servants  to  prepare  for  a  visit  to  London, 
where  she  resolved  to  see  Bishop  Laud  and 
meet  Harry  on  his  return. 

Rupert  was  very  sorry  to  leave  his  sister,  but 


234  SAXBY. 

the  novelty  of  the  journey  and  the  anticipa- 
tion of  seeing  his  father's  old  friends  and  old 
home  reconciled  him  to  the  separation,  while 
Winny  was  soothed  with  a  present  of  comfits 
and  confections  now,  and  a  promise  of  visiting 
the  little  prince  and  seeing  his  wonderful 
French  toys  when  they  should  reach  London. 

Harry  Vane  kept  little  Rupert  as  near  to 
him  as  he  could  during  the  journey,  often  seat- 
ing him  in  front  of  himself  as  he  rode,  al- 
though a  pony  had  been  provided  for  the  child, 
and  he  had  already  learned  to  ride  very  well. 
He  took  care  that  he  should  be  so  seated  and 
he  rode  his  horse  at  a  leisurely  pace  as  they 
drew  near  the  old  Saxby  homestead. 

"  There,  my  boy,  that  is  your  father's  home, 
and  will  be  yours  some  day,  I  doubt  not,"  said 
Harry  Vane  as  they  drew  near  the  gate. 

"  That ! "  exclaimed  Rupert,  in  some  sur- 
prise, for  the  old  house  was  falling  into  decay, 
and  Master  Vane  noticed  how  neglected  and 
dilapidated  every  thing  was  looking  now.  Paths 
were  weed-grown  and  untidy,  gates  were  fall- 
ing off  their  hinges,  hedges  were  broken  down 
and  showed  ugly  gaps,  and  an  air  of  miserable 
desolation  reigned  over  the  whole  place. 

"  It  was  not  like  this  when  I  saw  it  last  year, 
Rupert.  I  wonder  whether  your  uncle  has 


Bitter  Disappointments.  235 

died  and  there  is  no  one  left  to  take  care  of  the 
old  place  now,"  and  he  urged  on  his  horse 
again  toward  Hampden,  leaving  the  gossips  of 
Great  Kimble  in  a  flutter  of  astonishment  and 
conjecture  as  to  who  the  grand  visitors  could 
be. 

Very  different  was  the  aspect  of  Master  John 
Hampden's  residence.  The  broad  avenue, 
sheltered  by  lofty,  overarching  trees,  had  been 
clean  swept  of  the  falling  leaves,  and  every 
thing  gave  token  of  the  wealthy,  careful  coun- 
try gentleman,  who  was  proud  of  his  home  and 
its  surroundings. 

The  announcement  of  his  visitor's  name 
soon  brought  Master  Hampden  to  the  door  to 
welcome  him,  and  Rupert  was  taken  at  once 
to  gentle  Dame  Hampden,  to  be  introduced 
to  her  numerous  family  of  boys  and  girls,  some 
of  whom  were  older  and  some  younger  than 
Rupert.  Orders  were  issued  for  servants  and 
horses  to  be  made  comfortable,  and  refresh- 
ments were  at  once  brought  in  for  Harry  Vane. 
This  meal  dispatched,  he  began  to  question 
his  host  about  the  change  that  had  taken 
place  in  the  Saxby  homestead  during  the  last 
year. 

"  Yes,  every  thing  is  going  to  rack  and  ruin 
under  Roger's  management,"  said  Master 


236  SAX  BY. 

Hampden,  "  and,  what  is  worse,  he  seems  to 
be  going  the  same  road  himself." 

"  There  are  two  brothers  living  there,  I  think 
you  said  ?  "  remarked  Harry  Vane. 

"  Yes,  Lawrence,  the  youngest  of  the  three, 
was  left  behind  at  his  own  request  when  his 
mother  and  father  went  to  America  ;  for  these 
two  boys  were  very  fond  of  each  other,  and 
were  to  manage  the  farm  between  them  until 
Captain  Saxby  came  home,  when  the  key  of 
an  old  cabinet  was  to  be  given  to  him — the 
key,  by  the  way,  is  in  my  possession — and  he 
would  see,  by  an  examination  of  its  contents, 
what  his  father's  wishes  were  about  the  estate. 
Roger  has  never  felt  satisfied  about  this,  it 
seems,  but  he  and  Lawrence  were  always  good 
friends  until  you  came  last  year  about  the 
children.  They  had  a  serious  quarrel  after 
you  left — the  first  real  quarrel  they  have  ever 
had.  Since  then  they  have  been  frequent 
enough,  until  at  last  Lawrence  has  decided  to 
go  to  his  parents  in  America.  He  came  to 
consult  me  about  it  only  last  week,  and  I  think 
it  is  the  best  thing  he  can  do,  unless  he  is  to 
go  to  ruin  like  his  brother." 

"  This  new  colony  in  America  seems  the  only 
hope  for  many  of  us,"  said  Harry  Vane. 
"  Young  Saxby  may  tell  his  friends  that  I  shall 


Bitter  Disappointments.  237 

probably  take  their  grandson  out  with  me  by 
and  by." 

"  You  go  to  this  half-civilized  place,  Master 
Vane  !  You  that  have  been  reared  in  the  lux- 
ury and  splendor  of  a  court ! "  exclaimed 
Hampden. 

"  Luxury  and  splendor  are  not  freedom.  I 
cannot  even  worship  God  according  to  my  own 
conscience,  Hampden.  Do  you  know  a  cler- 
gyman who  would  let  me  take  the  sacrament 
standing  now?" 

Master  Hampden  shook  his  head.  "We 
had  a  brave,  true,  God-fearing  man  here  a  few 
years  ago,  in  whose  defense  Master  Saxby  suf- 
fered a  good  many  losses  and  a  good  many 
vexations,  but  he  has  been  imprisoned  by 
Bishop  Laud's  order,  and  there  is  as  little  hope 
of  his  release  as  of  our  friend  Sir  John  Eliot's," 

"  Your  brave  leader  is  in  prison  again  ? " 
said  Harry  Vane,  questioningly. 

"  Yes,  most  illegally  committed  to  the  Tower 
by  the  Council  and  Star-chamber  two  days  after 
the  dissolution  of  Parliament." 

"  What  was  his  offense  ?  "  asked  Harry  Vane. 

"  The  old  and  oft-told  tale,  denying  the 
king's  right  to  levy  taxes  without  the  consent 
of  Parliament.  The  matter  immediately  in 
dispute  was  that  of  tonnage  and  poundage, 


238  SAXBY. 

levied  immediately  after  the  last  Parliament 
was  prorogued,  and  in  direct  defiance  of  the 
Bill  of  Rights.  You  have  heard  of  this  famous 
bill,  Master  Vane,  and  the  trouble  it  cost  us 
to  gain  the  king's  assent  thereto." 

"  I  would  that  I  had  never  heard  of  it,  or 
the  king's  share  in  that  most  dishonorable 
business,"  said  Harry  Vane. 

"  Well,  well,  we  will  not  discuss  that  now," 
said  Hampden,  with  delicate  courtesy  for  his 
visitor's  feelings,  to  whom  the  king  was  a  per- 
sonal friend  as  well  as  a  sovereign.  "  The  Bill 
of  Rights,  as  you  well  know,  was  to  make 
clear,  once  for  all,  that  the  State  had  not  abso- 
lute power  over  the  lives  and  property  of  the 
subject,  as  had  of  late  been  assumed  ;  but,  in  de- 
fiance of  this,  tonnage  and  poundage  was  imme- 
diately levied,  and  three  worthy  citizens  of 
London  had  their  goods  seized,  the  judges  re- 
fusing them  protection  because  they  declined 
to  pay  this  illegal  impost.  When  Parliament 
met,  Sir  John  Eliot  brought  forward  a  remon- 
strance against  this,  but  the  speaker  would 
have  left  the  chair  when  it  was  to  be  read  had 
not  Denzil  Hollis  held  him  down  while  Sir 
John  Eliot  read  his  remonstrance  against  the 
king's  illegal  action." 

"  And  it  was  for  this  he  called  you  a  nest  of 


Bitter  Disappointments.  239 

'  vipers,'  I  suppose,"  said  Harry  Vane,  who 
had  heard  of  the  king's  angry  dissolution  of 
this  Parliament,  and  his  declared  intention  to 
rule  the  kingdom  without  a  Parliament  in 
future. 

"  Master  Vane,  we  have  been  no  vipers,  but 
true  men  and  the  king's  most  loyal  subjects ; 
but  if  such  noble  gentlemen  as  Sir  John  Eliot 
are  to  be  imprisoned  for  speeches  in  Parlia- 
ment, the  time  may  come  when  the  king  will 
find  us  vipers  indeed.  We  are  Englishmen, 
patient  and  law-abiding,  demanding  only  to 
be  ruled  according  to  law ;  but  if  this  be  refused 
us  and  all  our  rights  denied,  a  day  will  comne 
when  remonstrances  and  protests  will  be  laid 
aside  and  sterner  weapons  taken  into  use.  I 
tell  you  this,  Master  Vane,  that  you  may  give 
a  word  of  warning  in  time  to  those  whom  it 
may  concern — I  tell  you  I  fear  such  a  day  will 
come,  unless  the  king  will  take  other  counsel- 
ors than  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  the  traitor 
of  our  cause,  and  Laud,  the  Arminian  bishop, 
who  would  fain  become  Pope  of  the  Church 
of  England." 

"  I  fear  words  of  mine  will  have  but  little 
weight  with  the  king  or  his  party.  But,  can 
nothing  be  done  for  Sir  John  Eliot?" 

"  I  fear  not,  although  his  health  is  suffering 


240  SAXBY. 

from  the  closeness  of  his  confinement.  He 
has  used  every  lawful  means  to  gain  his  lib- 
erty, but  the  king  demands  that  he  shall  peti- 
tion, declaring  he  is  sorry  he  has  offended." 

"And  he  will  not  do  this?"  said  Harry  Vane 
with  flashing  eyes. 

"  Do  it !  Would  it  not  be  conceding  to  the 
king  the  right  for  which  we  have  been  con- 
tending so  long? — the  right  of  the  subject  to 
his  liberty  and  property,  unless  he  has  offend- 
ed against  the  law.  This  Sir  John  Eliot  has 
not  done ;  and  as  for  being  sorry  for  what  he 
said,  he  would  do  it  again  the  next  time  he 
stood  in  Parliament ;  for  what  would  freedom 
be  worth  to  a  man  like  Sir  John,  if  he  dare  not 
raise  his  voice  on  behalf  of  the  oppressed  ?  " 

Harry  Vane  shook  his  head  sadly.  "  What 
is  coming  to  our  poor  England  when  true, 
honest  men  are  shut  up  in  the  Tower  or  ban- 
ished to  Ireland,  and  traitors  like  Wentworth 
rewarded  for  their  treachery  ?  Master  Hamp- 
den,  we  must  all  go  to  this  New  England  the 
men  of  the  Mayflower  have  discovered  for  us." 

But  Hampden  shook  his  head.  "  Not  yet," 
he  said  ;  "  not  while  there  is  a  chance  of  sav- 
ing dear  old  England." 

" But,  can  we  save  her?" 

"  We  will  spend  our  lives  in  the  effort.    Pym 


Bitter  Disappointments.  241 

and  Sir  John  Eliot,  my  cousin  Oliver  Crom- 
well, Masten  and  Selden,  Lord  Say,  and  Lord 
Brooke,  we  have  all  sworn  to  think  of  our 
country's  welfare  before  our  own,  and  we  will 
die  rather  than  see  her  the  down-trodden  vic- 
tim of  any  oppression." 

"And  I  will  join  you,"  said  young  Harry- 
Vane,  speaking  slowly  but  firmly. 

Hampden  looked  at  the  noble,  boyish  face, 
and  shook  his  head.  "  You  will  ever  be  our 
friend  among  the  court  party,  I  doubt  not; 
but  to  join  us — to  rank  yourself  openly  on  our 
side,  you  know  not  what  this  will  cost  you. 
You  have  been  reared  in  the  midst  of  the 
court ;  all  your  friends  are  of  it,  and  to  leave 
these — to  give  up  all  your  hopes  for  the  future 
— you  must  consider  it  well,  young  sir,  before 
you  decide  so  weighty  a  question." 

"  But  I  am  one  with  you  in  conscience  and 
religion,  aye,  and  in  politics,  too.  Think  you 
that,  after  seeing  the  Church  of  Geneva  in  all 
its  purity  and  simplicity,  I  could  join  this 
half-Romanized  Church  that  Laud  has  given 
us  ?  I  tell  you  I  will  never  kneel  to  take  the 
sacrament ;  and  if  no  man  will  give  it  me 
standing,  I'll  wait  until  your  day  comes,  or  I 
go  to  this  New  England  and  take  it  with  my 
Puritan  brethren  there." 


242  SAXBY. 

"  Well,  well,  for  the  matter  of  that,  I  blame 
you  not,"  said  Hampden ;  "  but  in  this  ques- 
tion of  politics  be  not  hasty ;  be  our  friend 
with  the  king  an  you  can,  but  for  the  rest 
wait." 

"  How  long?"  asked  Harry  Vane.  "If  1^ 
come  to  you  and  Pym  in  five  years'  time, 
and  say,  '  Here  I  am,  another  man  for  En- 
gland ;  I  have  never  wavered  since  I  made  my 
choice — '  " 

"  Then  we  will  receive  you  gladly,"  inter- 
rupted Hampden. 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  243 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ROUNDHEAD  AND  ROYALIST. 

DAME  MEREDITH  sat  in  the  wide  oriel 
window  of  the  Vane  Mansion,  in  the 
Strand,  watching  the  swans  as  they  sailed 
gracefully  up  and  down  the  river,  and  the 
boats  and  gaily-decorated  barges,  with  their 
company  of  fine  ladies  and  gentlemen  on  their 
way  to  and  from  Whitehall.  The  sun  shone 
through  the  little  lozenge -shaped  panes  of 
glass,  making  quaint  patterns  on  the  polished 
dark  oak  floor.  At  the  lady's  feet  sat  a  little 
fair-haired  girl,  about  ten  years  old,  with  wide- 
open,  serious-looking  eyes. 

"  Madam,  will  my  brother  Rupert  grow 
up  a  very  bad  man  an  he  goes  with  Master 
Harry  Vane  to  this  New  England  ?  "  she  said 
seriously,  after  a  long  silence. 

The  lady  turned  her  face  to  gaze  at  the  child 
for  a  minute,  and  the  tears  were  in  her  eyes  as 
she  said :  "  I  would  give  all  I  possess  to  save 
Master  Vane  from  the  presumption,  and  folly, 
and  spiritual  pride  that  has  driven  him  to  turn 
his  back  upon  his  friends,  and  forsake  his  king 


244  SAXBY. 

and  the  Church  in  which  he  learned  to  serve 
God ;  but  for  all  this  Harry  Vane  is  not  a  bad 
man,  and  he  will  strive  to  teach  our  Rupert 
all  that  he  thinks  right  and  true  and  good." 

"  Then  there  are  two  sorts  of  goodness, 
madam  ?  "  said  little  Winny. 

Dame  Meredith  seemed  puzzled  to  answer 
the  child's  question.  "  There  should  not  be, 
little  Winny,"  she  said  at  last;  "but  the  times 
are  out  of  joint,  and  many  set  little  store  by 
loyalty  to  the  divine  right  of  the  king,  or  obe- 
dience to  holy  Church.  But  why  do  I  talk  to 
you  of  these  things  which  you  cannot  under- 
stand ?  Run  to  Dorothy  and  tell  her  to  give 
you  some  comfits  and  take  you  to  walk  in  the 
garden.  I  expect  Master  Vane  will  be  here  in 
a  few  minutes." 

"  But — but,  madam,  I  may  see  Rupert  be- 
fore he  goes  across  the  great  sea  ?  "  said  Win- 
ny, doubtfully. 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,  child,  you  shall  see  your 
brother.  He  is  coming  here  to-morrow." 

"  Then  I  will  talk  to  him  of  this  evil  way 
he  is  in,"  said  Winny  with  the  gravity  of  Dame 
Meredith  herself;  for,  having  so  little  com- 
panionship with  children  of  her  own  age,  the 
little  girl  had  grown  up  with  the  manners 
and  speech  of  her  elders,  and  thought  more 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  245 

than  most  children  of  her  age  over  what  she 
heard. 

The  child  had  only  just  left  the  room  when 
Harry  Vane  was  announced,  and  the  next 
minute  stood  in  his  aunt's  presence.  The  four 
or  five  years  that  had  elapsed  since  his  return 
from  Geneva  had  altered  much  of  the  boyish 
expression,  but  not  the  noble  truthfulness  of 
his  face. 

"How  now,  my  sweet  aunt?"  said  Harry, 
doffing  his  plumed  hat  and  throwing  aside  his 
scented  love-locks  as  he  stooped  to  kiss  his 
aunt's  hand. 

"  How  now,  Cousin  Harry?  I  looked  to  see 
thee  as  a  veritable  roundhead  knave  by  this 
time,"  said  his  aunt  playfully,  laying  her  hand 
on  his  curls,  and  evidently  pleased  to  see  that 
he  still  followed  some  custom  of  the  court, 
whatever  his  private  opinion  might  be. 

"  Nay,  God  is  not  served  by  the  cut  of  a 
man's  doublet  or  the  shearing  of  his  hair," 
said  Harry  with  a  smile,  drawing  a  narrow, 
highbacked  chair  close  to  his  aunt's. 

o 

"  Well,  now,  wherefore  is  this  new  whimsy 
of  thine,  about  which  thy  father  is  fretting 
and  fuming?  I  thought  thou  and  he  were 
close  friends  since  this  business  at  Sweden 
had  occupied  you  both." 


246  SAXBY. 

"  In  matters  of  business  which  touch  neither 
king  nor  Church  my  father  and  I  will  ever  be 
good  friends,"  said  Harry;  "but  since  the  king 
will  rule  this  realm  without  law — " 

"And  wherefore  should  not  the  king  rule  it 
as  he  will  ?  Is  it  not  his  right  ?  "  interrupted 
Dame  Meredith,  sharply. 

"  An  he  would  rule  according  to  law  no  one 
would  gainsay  it,"  replied  Harry,  and  then 
added  :  "  but  you  and  I  are  not  going  to  quar- 
rel, sweet  aunt.  I  love  thee  too  well  to  go 
forth  on  my  perilous  adventure  leaving  thee 
in  anger.  I  came  to  talk  to  thee  of  these 
children." 

"  Thou  dost  not  want  to  take  my  sweet  bud 
of  promise,  Winny,  away  from  me  ? "  inter- 
rupted the  lady  quickly. 

"  Nay,  dear  aunt ;  what  could  I  do  with  a 
little  wench  on  my  adventure  ?  But  the  boy 
is  anxious  to  go  to  his  friends,  and  they  have 
sent  letters  to  Master  Hampden  begging  he 
will  send  them  both  by  the  hand  of  some  trusty 
friend.  I  will  take  Rupert,  and  persuade  them 
to  let  the  little  wench  abide  with  thee  until 
her  father  shall  return  from  the  wars,  when 
thou  wilt,  of  course,  be  willing  to  give  her 
up." 

"  Have  I  not  always  said  I  would  yield  the 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  247 

little  wench  to  her  own  father?  And  now, 
Harry,  a  word  about  yourself;  wherefore 
dost  thou  continue  in  this  stout  rebellion 
against  the  king  and  the  true  Church  ?  Why 
dost  thou  not  obey  her,  and  submit  to  her 
authority  ?  " 

"  What !  give  my  conscience  to  a  priest ! 
Nay,  nay,  aunt,  I  hold  that  every  man  is  him- 
self a  priest  in  this  matter,  and  may  not  dele- 
gate the  office  to  another  without  loss  to  his 
own  soul." 

"  I  had  thought  our  godly  Archbishop  Laud 
would  have  brought  thee  to  a  better  mind," 
said  Dame  Meredith  with  a  sigh.  "  How  is  it 
thou  dost  arrogate  to  thyself  a  wisdom  greater 
than  thy  father  or  mother?  Dost  thou  not 
think  it  comes  of  the  presumption  of  youth 
and  an  overweening  contempt  of  authority, 
which  is  also  another  youthful  fault,  but  still 
not  incurable  ?" 

But  her  nephew  shook  his  head.  "  Sweet 
aunt,  I  thought  you  knew  me  better  by  this 
time,"  he  said.  "  To  please  you  and  my  father 
I  had  a  long  discussion  with  Laud,  but  he  did 
not  move  me  an  inch  from  the  truth  I  had 
learned." 

"  Harry,  Harry,  what  are  you  saying  ?     The 
archbishop  move  you  from  the  truth!     Nay, 
16 


248  SAXBY. 

nay,  he  would  lead  you  to  the  truth,  vain  boy," 
said  Dame  Meredith. 

"  I  -doubt  not  Master  Laud's  sincerity,  or 
that  he  hath  a  grip  of  some  fragment  of  truth, 
albeit  it  is  well-nigh  hidden  from  the  multitude 
by  the  ceremonies  and  mummeries  which  the 
Church  hath  of  late  imposed.  But  truth  is 
many-sided,  and  we  speak  that  we  do  know 
and  testify  that  we  have  seen,  and  wherefore 
should  I  give  this  up  at  the  bidding  of  king  or 
archbishop,  for  Charles  himself  hath  caught  me 
more  than  once  on  this  hap  ?  " 

"  I  would  that  he  had  made  thee  give  up  thy 
headstrong  ways,  that  cause  such  sore  grief  to 
thy  friends,"  said  Dame  Meredith. 

"  Nay,  sweet  aunt,  if  you  have  failed,  how 
think  you  others  can  succeed  ?  But  now  let 
us  talk  of  other  things.  I  would  that  I  had 
seen  the  brave  Sir  John  Eliot  before  he  died, 
for  he  had  many  friends,  I  trow,  in  the  New 
England  to  which  I  am  going." 

"  He  died  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,"  said 
Dame  Meredith. 

"  Sir  John  died  a  martyr  for  his  country, 
the  victim  of  the  king's  tyranny,"  said  young 
Vane. 

"  I  would  every  evil-minded  roundhead  was 
now  in  the  Tower.  I  would  almost  send  you 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  249 

there  an  it  would  cure  you  of  this  pestilent 
heresy,"  she  added  ;  and  truly  the  good  dame 
would  have  sent  her  dearly-loved  nephew  any 
where  out  of  the  way  of  these  new  opinions 
that  were  so  slowly  but  surely  alienating  men's 
minds  from  the  king,  and  preparing  them  for 
that  final  struggle  when  they  would  fight  with 
other  weapons  than  those  of  protests,  and  re- 
monstrances, and  stern  parliamentary  phrases, 
which  was  all  that  had  ever  been  thought  of 
as  yet  by  the  king-loving,  law-abiding  people, 
or  their  leaders  either. 

And  now  the  talk  of  Dame  Meredith  and 
Harry  Vane  was  about  the  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic,  the  retinue  of  servants  and  retainers 
he  would  take  with  him,  and  the  need  for  pro- 
viding other  and  more  substantial  garments 
than  satin  and  velvet  doublets  and  silver-lace- 
trimmed  cloaks.  To  his  aunt's  horror,  Harry 
was  bent  upon  providing  himself  with  several 
substantial  suits  of  homely  frieze  and  one  or 
two  jerkins  of  buff  leather,  such  as  peasants 
wore,  but  which  would  be  very  unfitting  for  the 
court-bred  Harry  Vane,  his  aunt  argued.  But 
Harry  was  as  determined  about  the  frieze 
doublets  as  he  was  about  his  religious  opinions, 
only  he  promised  to  go  on  board  the  vessel  in 
a  dress  becoming  Sir  Harry  Vane's  son  ;  and 


250  SAXBY. 

this  was  the  utmost  he  would  concede  to  his 
aunt's  whimsy. 

The  next  day  Rupert  arrived  from  Hamp- 
den,  where  most  of  his  time  had  been  spent 
since  he  first  went  there  with  Harry  Vane. 
He  had  grown  a  fine,  handsome  lad,  grave 
perhaps  beyond  his  years,  but  then  he  had 
been  brought  up  in  a  Puritan  household,  and 
they  were  hardly  the  times  for  much  merry- 
making when  any  day  might  see  father  or 
friends  carried  off  to  prison,  and  such  ruinous 
fines  imposed  that  the  whole  family  might  be 
reduced  to  ruin.  Such  things  were  only  too 
common  under  the  tyranny  of  the  Star-cham- 
ber, and  so  it  was  little  wonder  that  those  who 
lived  in  constant  danger  of  falling  into  its 
power  under  one  pretext  or  the  other  should 
take  a  serious  view  of  life,  or  that  children 
should  catch  the  tone  of  this  from  their  par- 
ents almost  insensibly. 

But  Rupert  had  been  brought  up  among 
young  people  near  his  own  age,  and  his  little 
sister's  solemn  lectures  on  the  evil  of  following 
Master  Vane's  foolish  ways  greatly  surprised 
him. 

"  I  have  seen  but  little  of  Master  Vane,  and 
shall  see  less,  I  trow,  when  I  reach  Saxby,  on 
the  other  side  the  great  sea — New  Saxby  my 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  251 

grandfather  calls  it ;  and  he  would  fain  give 
up  the  old  Saxby  here  in  Great  Kimble,  for  it 
has  done  my  Uncle  Roger  much  mischief, 
Master  Hampden  says." 

"  But  you  must  not  hold  by  all  this  Master 
Hampden  tells  you.  He  is  an  evil-minded 
roundhead,  and  would  fain  take  all  power  from 
the  king  and  put  our  godly  bishops  into 
prison,"  said  Winny. 

Rupert  looked  at  her  in  astonishment,  and 
then  burst  into  a  merry  peal  of  laughter  at 
Winny's  grave  face.  "  So  Mistress  Dorothy 
has  been  teaching  you  high  things,  little  sis- 
ter," he  said,  catching  her  in  his  arms  and  kiss- 
ing her. 

But  Winny  struggled  to  free  herself,  looking 
very  angry.  "  You  shall  not  love  me  an  you 
will  not  love  the  king  and  the  good  arch- 
bishop," she  said. 

"  Nay,  nay,  have  I  ever  said  aught  to  offend 
the  king  or  the  archbishop  ?  "  said  Rupert,  in 
the  same  tone  of  amused  surprise ;  for  although 
the  elder  children  among  the  Hampdens  may 
have  known  something  of  these  things — re- 
membered their  father's  imprisonment  and 
their  mother's  grief  and  anxiety  at  that  time 
— the  younger  ones,  with  whom  Rupert  had 
had  his  lessons,  had  heard  but  little  of  the  dif- 


252  SAXBY. 

ferences  of  opinion  that  rent  the  nation  and 
families,  and  often  men's  own  hearts,  as  in 
the  case  of  Harry  Vane  ;  for  it  was  no  light 
thing  to  forsake  home  and  friends  and  every 
prospect  of  advancement,  even  the  opportunity 
of  doing  his  party  good,  as  some  whispered, 
for  liberty  of  conscience.  His  sister's  words 
were,  therefore,  the  more  strange  to  Rupert  ; 
but  though  he  put  them  aside  laughingly  he 
did  not  forget  them,  and  resolved  to  ask  his 
friend,  Master  Vane,  all  about  them,  when 
they  were  on  board  the  ship.  At  present  they 
had  enough  to  do,  each  in  his  own  separate 
ways,  Rupert  rambling  about  the  garden  and 
watching  the  swans  on  the  river,  or  sometimes 
going  on  water  excursions  as  far  as  Greenwich 
in  the  stately  family  barge,  while  Master  Vane 
was  busy  bidding  his  friends  farewell  and  mak- 
ing his  final  preparations  for  departure.  They 
did  not  see  a  great  deal  of  him  at  home  ;  most 
of  his  time  was  spent  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  at 
the  house  of  his  dear  friend,  Master  Pym, 
where  he  met  more  congenial  friends  than 
those  at  home  or  at  the  palace  of  Whitehall. 
So,  except  his  own  family,  few  of  his  former 
associates  saw  any  thing  of  Harry  Vane  during 
his  last  days  in  England. 

To  please  his  aunt  and  family  Harry  went 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  253 

to  the  vessel  in  state  befitting  his  father's  po- 
sition. His  rich  dress  and  long,  scented  love- 
locks, however  were  a  great  offense  to  his  fel- 
low-passengers, most  of  whom  were  Puritans, 
not  only  in  heart  but  in  the  cut  of  their  gar- 
ments and  the  fashion  they  wore  their  hair, 
and  they  felt  greatly  scandalized  at  their  fel- 
low-passenger's laxity  in  these  particulars. 
When  they  heard  who  he  was  they  regarded 
him  as  a  spy  sent  out  by  the  government  to 
report  upon  the  state  of  the  new  colony.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  voyage,  however,  they  had 
another  complaint  to  bring  against  this  strange 
young  gentleman,  not  on  the  score  of  laxity, 
for,  in  the  words  of  an  old  chronicler  we  read, 
"  But  he  that  they  thought  at  first  sight  to 
have  too  little  of  Christ  for  their  company  did 
soon  after  appear  to  have  too  much  for  them." 

What  a  wonderful  voyage  that  was  for 
young  Rupert  Saxby !  Harry  Vane,  whom 
his  fellow-passengers  turned  from  in  coldness 
and  suspicion,  found  the  little  lad  a  most 
pleasant  companion,  eager  to  learn  all  he 
could  tell  him  of  the  strange  and  wonderful 
sights  passing  around  him,  anxious,  too,  to  un- 
derstand his  little  sister's  strange  words  about 
the  king  and  the  bishops. 

The  boy's  mind  was  opening  and  ripening. 


254  SAXBY. 

but  Harry  Vane  wondered  how  far  it  would 
be  well  for  him  to  know  of  the  strife  that 
was  continually  growing  in  Church  and  State, 
and  had  already  created  the  New  England  to 
which  they  were  sailing,  and  which  they  would 
probably  find  very  different  from  the  dear 
home-country  they  were  leaving  far  behind. 

At  length  he  decided  to  tell  the  lad  some- 
thing of  the  great  struggle  that  was  now  con- 
vulsing not  only  England  but  the  whole  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  ;  for  the  German  war  was  still 
raging,  and  Rupert's  father  was  fighting  with 
sword  and  battle-ax  for  freedom  and  liberty  of 
conscience,  as  Pym  and  Hampden  had  fought 
by  protests  and  remonstrances  many  a  like 
battle  in  the  English  Parliament ;  still  the 
struggle  was  going  on  —  the  war  of  right 
against  might  —  in  which  all  who  loved  the 
truth  must  engage,  if  they  would  win  the  truth 
for  themselves. 

Many  an  hour  did  they  sit  on  the  deck  of 
the  little  vessel,  wrapped  closely  in  their  warm 
frieze  coats,  for  it  was  cold  weather  now,  talk- 
ing of  the  grand  battle  that  was  going  on  in 
the  world — the  battle  that  Luther  had  begun 
and  Calvin  carried  on  as  far  as  he  was  able, 
but  which  the  powers  of  darkness  seemed  to 
have  determined  should  be  carried  no  farther. 


Roundhead  and  Royalist.  255 

Henceforth  men's  minds  were  to  be  bound  in 
the  fetters  of  the  past ;  there  was  to  be  no 
more  growth.  God  himself  was  to  stand  aside 
and  make  no  further  revelations  to  man,  and 
men,  for  their  part,  were  to  shrink  from  the 
thought  that  God  had  not  yet  given  them  all 
he  had  to  give,  or,  at  the  peril  of  losing  their 
souls,  were  to  receive  any  further  manifesta- 
tions of  truth  from  him. 

Not  in  the  very  words  I  have  written-  did 
Harry  Vane  talk  to  the  lad,  thrown  upon  him 
for  companionship ;  but  they  contain  the  gist 
and  kernel  of  many  conversations,  and  embod- 
ied the  broad  living  principle  that  ruled  Vane's 
own  life  and  belief,  and  which  he  now  tried  to 
make  Rupert  Saxby  understand.  He  did  un- 
derstand it  as  far  as  his  mind  was  able  to  re- 
ceive it,  and,  what  was  of  infinitely  more  value, 
he  believed  in  his  teacher,  for  he  saw,  day  by 
day  and  hour  by  hour,  that  he  exemplified  his 
teaching  in  his  own  Christ-like  life,  so  large  in 
its  charity  for  others,  so  strict  and  blameless  in 
the  regulation  of  his  own  ;  and,  although  no 
word  was  said  of  the  sacrifices  he  had  made 
for  conscience*  sake,  Rupert  Saxby  knew  that 
these  were  many,  and  he  wondered  how  the 
world  could  be  wicked  with  two  such  men  in  it 
as  Master  Hampden  and  Master  Harry  Vane. 


256  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

NEW  BOSTON. 

HOW  eagerly  our  travelers  looked  out  for 
the  shores  of  New  England  our  readers 
can  well  imagine.  The  colony  had  grown 
rapidly,  for  there  were  now  sixteen  towns  in 
all  clustered  round  Boston,  which  was  one  of 
the  earliest  formed,  and  named  in  loving  re- 
membrance of  the  English  port  from  which 
they  had  embarked  for  Holland. 

Rupert  Saxby  was  eager  to  know  what  this 
New  England  was  like  ;  but  Master  Vane  could 
only  shake  his  head  and  tell  the  boy  he  would 
probably  find  many  things  different  from  what 
they  were  in  the  old  country,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  tried  .to  prepare  his  own  mind 
for  some  disappointment — some  shock,  perhaps, 
to  all  his  preconceived  notions  of  what  this 
new  country  would  be  like. 

At  length  the  little  timber-built  fort,  with  its 
two  or  three  mounted  guns,  commanding  the 
harbor,  rose  upon  their  view,  and  no  sooner 
was  it  known  that  a  ship  from  England  was  in 
the  offing  than  the  colonists  crowded  the  shoiv.s, 


New  Boston.  257 

eager  to  welcome  the  strangers,  many  hoping 
to  find  friends  among  them. 

Harry  Vane  was  glad  he  had  donned  a 
homely  frieze  cloak  and  doublet,  for  satin  and 
velvet  would  look  sadly  out  of  place  among 
these  soberly  dressed  people,  although  it  was 
evident  many  of  them  wore  their  holiday  dress 
in  honor  of  the  arrival  of  friends. 

And  then  the  town !  Why,  it  seemed  as 
though  the  wilderness  and  civilization  had 
met  in  a  death-struggle  ;  but  it  was  hard  to 
say  which  would  conquer  yet.  Little,  strongly 
built  log-huts,  set  down  in  the  midst  of  gar- 
dens and  fields,  that  looked  as  though  they 
were  now  only  half  reclaimed  from  the  forest, 
were  the  best  mansions  that  Boston  could 
boast ;  and  into  one  of  these  Harry  was  taken, 
for  he  bore  letters  of  introduction  to  friends  of 
Pym  and  Hampden — learned  and  accomplished 
gentlemen,  who  had  left  estates  and  mansions 
in  England  for  liberty  of  conscience. 

His  host  was  not  at  home,  but  at  work  in 
some  distant  fields,  his  wife  said ;  but  she  re- 
ceived Harry  Vane  with  all  the  grace  and 
courtesy  of  a  high-born  English  lady,  that 
seemed  only  the  more  striking  from  the  hum- 
ble surroundings.  Her  visitor  could  hardly 
speak  for  a  minute  or  two,  so  striking  was  the 


258  SAXBY. 

contrast — the  rough,  unplaned  logs  that  formed 
the  cottage  walls,  the  low  door-way,  the  wide 
kitchen  fire-place  opposite  the  rough  home- 
made settles,  with  one  or  two  handsome  oak 
chests  that  occupied  the  place  of  honor  just 
under  the  book-shelves  close  to  the  window. 

Rupert  Saxby  looked  round  too,  and  felt 
something  like  boyish  disgust  at  the  rude, 
homely  surroundings.  This  was  evidently 
kitchen,  dining-room,  library,  and  visitors' 
parlor  all  in  one,  and  he  had  for  the  last  few 
years  enjoyed  the  abundance  and  refinement 
of  Master  Hampden's  luxurious  home,  and 
felt  the  contrast  to  be  painful  indeed. 

Presently  the  master  of  the  house  came  in, 
hastened  in  his  return  by  the  messenger  sent 
for  him.  He  was  a  tall,  stately,  grave-looking 
man,  with  a  broad,  massive  brow,  that  con- 
trasted almost  as  strongly  with  his  soiled 
hands  and  earth-stained  clothes  as  his  wife's 
stately  courtesy  did  with  the  log-cabin  in 
which  they  lived. 

Master  Vane  was  welcomed  to  the  colony 
and  all  the  host's  house  would  afford  before  the 
letter  was  read  informing  him  who  his  visitor 
was,  and  how  highly  Master  Pym  esteemed 
him ;  but  when  he  had  read  this  his  face 
beamed  with  delight,  and  he  hastened  to  lay 


New  Boston.  259 

aside  the  leather  jerkin  he  wore,  and  put  on 
more  suitable  attire,  although  it  was  only  of 
homely  frieze,  such  as  had  shocked  Dame 
Meredith's  refined  sense  of  what  was  becom- 
ing for  her  nephew.  . 

While  their  host  was  changing  his  dress  in 
a  little  lean-to,  that  formed  their  only  dressing- 
room,  and  their  hostess  was  busy  in  preparing 
them  a  meal,  Harry  Vane  told  Rupert  that  his 
friend  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  the 
age,  and  had  been  offered  the  chair  of  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Rhetoric  at  Cambridge  to  induce  him 
to  stay  there.  They  looked  at  the  books  in 
the  hanging  shelves — books  in  several  lan- 
guages, learned  treatises,  which  none  but  the 
most  cultivated  minds  could  understand  and 
appreciate.  Rupert  had  seen  companion  vol- 
umes in  Master  Hampden's  library  at  home  ; 
but  here — was  ever  any  thing  so  incongruous 
as  this  log-cabin  and  this  little  library  on  its 
walls  ? 

Suddenly  Master  Vane  turned  to  the  lad 
and  said :  "  God  is  going  to  make  a  great  and 
mighty  nation  here,  I  trow,  and  he  has  set 
worthy  men  to  be  the  fathers  and  founders  of 
it.  Look  you,  lad ;  these  are  no  sickly  book- 
worms who  must  die  inside  their  college  walls, 
but  men  made  in  God's  own  image,  who  can 


260  SAXBY. 

work  with  their  hands  as  well  .as  their  brains, 
and  are  not  afraid  or  ashamed  to  do  it." 

In  a  short  time  the  table  had  been  spread 
for  the  meal,  and  now  came  another  contrast. 
Silver  drinking-cups,  exquisitely  chased  and 
beautified,  stood  beside  wooden  platters,  and 
the  finest  table  linen  covered  the  rough  table. 
But  if  the  lady  of  the  house  was  her  own  cook, 
as  well  as  chamber-maid  and  dairy-maid,  no 
fault  could  be  found  with  the  sweet  wholesome 
bread  and  delicate  golden  butter  and  honey, 
or  the  tasty  little  dishes  that  had  been  got 
ready  almost  by  magic,  and  cooked  in  the 
room  where  they  were  eaten. 

Such  a  merry  meal  as  that  was !  the  host 
asking  after  old  friends  in  England,  and  telling 
who  had  joined  them  in  the  New  England, 
and  the  hostess  waiting  upon  them  with  the 
gentle  grace  of  Dame  Hampden  herself,  in 
spite  of  her  homely  surroundings. 

"  And  so  this  little  lad  is  another  Saxby, 
come  out  to  help  his  grandparents  with  the 
new  Saxby  they  are  making  here,"  said  their 
host. 

"Is  my  grandfather's  place  called  Saxby?" 
Rupert  ventured  to  ask. 

"  Yes,  my  lad,  it  is  ;  and  a  goodly  place  it  is, 
or  will  be;  and  if  thy  other  uncle  and  thy  father 


New  Boston.  261 

could  but  come  over  here,  the  old  man's  heart 
would  be  at  rest.  He  clung  steadfastly  to  the 
old  Saxby,  the  home  of  his  forefathers,  but 
God  has  led  him  to  a  goodly  heritage  here,  and 
he  hath  but  one  desire  now,  to  be  rid  of  the 
old  place,  lest  it  rob  him  of  his  children." 

The  meal  was  over,  and  the  host  proposed 
that  they  should  call  upon  their  minister,  Mas- 
ter John  Cotton.  He  was  formerly  rector  of 
St.  Botolph's,  Boston,  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
but  the  growth  of  despotism  in  the  Church 
under  Laud,  and  its  subservience  to  the  State, 
had  at  last  compelled  him  to  resign  his  living 
and  seek  a  refuge  among  his  Puritan  friends 
in  the  new  Boston  they  had  founded.  As 
they  passed  the  little  wattled  church,  less  pre- 
tentious than  many  a  gentleman's  barn  in  the 
old  country,  Harry  Vane  and  his  friend  stopped 
to  look  at  it. 

"  Master  Cotton  must  surely  feel  the  differ- 
ence between  this  and  his  old  church,"  said 
Harry  Vane ;  "  for  the  church  of  Boston  is  more 
like  a  cathedral  than  any  other  in  England." 

"  Yes,  yes,  'tis  a  grand  building,  Master 
Vane,  and  I  am  not  of  those  who  would  de- 
spise such,  for  I  hold  that  God  should  have 
of  our  best ;  but  still  Master  Cotton  has  in  this 
little  wattled  church  what  he  had  not  at  last 


262  SAXBY. 

in  yonder  stone  temple — liberty  to  teach  the 
whole  doctrine  of  God ;  and  that  is  dearer  to 
such  a  man  than  splendid  churches  and  costly 
living.  But  here  comes  worthy  Master  Cotton 
himself,  and  I  can  see  my  boys  and  girls  just 
beyond  him,  too." 

The  young  folks  passed  the  minister,  but  not 
unrecognized.  Each  bowed  in  lowly  reverence 
before  this  honored  servant  of  God  ;  the  boys 
doffing  their  caps  and  the  girls  dropping  a 
courtsey  as  they  wished  him  good  day.  They 
stopped  before  their  father,  paying  him  the 
same  deference,  and  glancing  shyly  at  the 
stranger  as  they  passed.  They  were  just  re- 
turning from  school,  and  their  father  bade 
them  hasten  home,  as  their  mother  wanted 
John  to  fetch  her  water  from  the  well  and 
Molly  to  scour  the  platters. 

"  Our  young  ones  must  all  be  useful  here," 
he  remarked  to  Harry  Vane. 

"  And  God's  blessing  will  always  be  with 
them  while  they  are,"  said  the  minister,  who 
overheard  the  remark.  "  And  who  have  we 
here?"  he  said,  extending  his  hand  to  Harry 
Vane.  "  Another  friend  from  the  dear  home- 
land, I  trow." 

"  This  is  Master  Vane,  whose  father  is  of 
the  king's  household,"  said  his  host. 


New  Boston.  263 

"  Ah,  a  court  gallant ;  and  what  may  bring 
such  fine  birds  among  us?"  said  the  old  min- 
ister, a  little  doubtfully. 

"  Nay,  nay,  good  Master  Cotton,  I  am  no 
court  gallant,  and  have  grievously  offended 
my  father  and  the  king  thereby,"  said  Harry 
Vane,  while  his  host  hastened  to  say  how 
warmly  he  had  been  commended  by  Master 
Pym,  in  his  letter  of  introduction.  "  I  was  even 
now  bringing  to  you  the  letter  and  my  visitor," 
he  added,  as  they  paused  at  the  minister's 
garden  gate. 

"  Come  in,  come  in,"  said  Master  Cotton, 
leading  the  way  into  a  little  log-cabin,  no  more 
pretentious-looking  than  the  rest.  Next  to 
the  governor,  Master  Cotton  considered  him- 
self the  chief  protector  of  the  little  colony, 
and  he  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  have  fine 
court  gallants,  fresh  from  the  frivolous  life  of 
Whitehall,  going  about  among  his  flock,  lead- 
ing the  young  ones  astray,  and  teaching  them 
all  sorts  of  idle  vanities,  if  not  worse ;  and  so, 
after  inviting  his  visitors  to  be  seated,  he  sat 
down  himself  and  prepared  to  examine  Harry 
Vane,  both  by  question  and  the  study  of  his 
face. 

Few  young  men  could  have  passed  such  an 
ordeal  without  losing  their  temper,  but  Harry 
17 


264  SAXBY. 

Vane  understood  the  old  man's  motive,  and 
was  quite  willing  that  he  should  assure  him- 
self at  once  that  he  was  not  a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing,  which  he  evidently  feared. 

When  it  was  over,  Master  Cotton  rose  and 
grasped  the  hand  of  Vane,  saying,  "  Welcome 
to  our  colony,  and  may  your  stay  among  us  be 
for  many  years,  an  the  Lord  will." 

"  It  must  be  seen  first  whether  I  can  be  of 
service  to  you,  "  said  Vane. 

"  Well,  well,  there  is  little  doubt  of  the  serv- 
ice, I  trow ;  for  we  are  glad  of  any  who  can 
help  us  with  hands  or  brains.  And  now,  hav- 
ing told  me  so  much  about  yourself  and  your 
life,  it  is  meet  I  should  tell  you  how  I  came  to 
be  in  this  place,  after  serving  the  Lord  twenty 
years  in  the  dear  old  Boston  of  the  home- 
land." 

"  Nay,  sir,  I  doubt  not  it  was  for  conscience' 
sake,"  said  Harry. 

"  But  conscience  and  reason  should  go  to- 
gether, young  man ;  and  think  not  because  a 
few  good  men  have  come  here  they  are  all 
fools  or  all  bad  that  stay  behind.  But  I  had 
been  watching  the  course  of  the  Church  of 
England  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  dur- 
ing all  that  time  she  was  growing  more  and 
more  corrupt.  The  Reformation  had  been 


New  Boston.  265 

cut  short  before  its  work  was  done.  It  went 
on,  see  you,  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the 
people,  but  stopped  short  in  the  Church.  It 
was  not  perceived  at  first,  but  in  proportion 
to  what  she  at  last  felt  to  be  the  growing  dis- 
taste in  which  her  corruptions  were  held  by 
the  people  did  she  seek  support  from  the 
crown  by  making  her  sacred  functions  sub- 
servient to  its  arbitrary  purposes.  There  is 
no  country,  except  Rome  itself,  where  an  alli- 
ance with  the  State  has  led  churchmen  into 
such  shameless  servility  as  England ;  until, 
at  last,  my  Lord  of  Canterbury,  knowing  the 
king  wants  to  raise  an  illegal  loan,  does  but 
send  letters  throughout  the  kingdom,  and 
forthwith  eveiy  pulpit  is  used  to  teach  the 
doctrine  that  if  the  king's  right  to  do  this  is 
denied  or  questioned  it  is  at  the  peril  of  his 
soul  who  shall  dare  to  do  it ;  and  I,  John  Cot- 
ton, as  a  true  Englishman  and  honest  man, 
could  but  refuse  to  preach  this." 

"  I  would  to  God  that  many  others  would 
do  likewise.  But  'tis  well  that  we  have  not 
the  keeping  of  other  men's  consciences,  and 
that  we  are  bidden  to  'judge  not,'"  added 
Harry  Vane. 

He  had  taken  Master  Cotton's  heart  by 
storm  as  well  as  his  host's,  and  it  was  with 


266  SAXBY. 

some  difficulty  that  he  could  get  away  from 
Boston  until  other  visits  had  been  paid  ;  but 
he  was  anxious  to  take  Rupert  Saxby  to  his 
grandparents  with  as  little  delay  as  possible, 
and  so  preparations  for  the  thirty  miles'  jour- 
ney to  Ipswich  was  commenced  at  once. 

Thirty  miles'  journey  through  forest  clear- 
ings, in  a  bullock  wagon,  was  not  a  rapid  mode 
of  traveling,  and  so  Rupert  did  not  reach 
Saxby  until  he  had  been  nearly  a  week  in  the 
colony,  and  somewhat  used  to  the  strange 
condition  of  things  he  saw  around  him.  The 
strangeness  had  worn  off  a  little,  and  he  was 
better  able  to  appreciate  the  substantial  com- 
fort of  his  grandfather's  log-house,  although  it 
did  lack  many  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  to 
which  he  had  been  accustomed  at  Hampden. 
He  was  received  with  almost  rapturous  de- 
light by  Dame  Saxby  as  well  as  her  husband, 
and  even  his  likeness  to  his  French  mother 
was  forgiven  and  forgotten  when  he  said,  "  I 
am  so  glad  you  have  called  this  nice  new  place 
Saxby." 

"He  is  the  same,  the  very  same,  boy  that 
we  spoke  to  at  Southampton,"  said  Dame  Sax- 
by, looking  him  over  critically. 

"  I  do  not  remember  you,  madam,"  said 
Rupert. 


New  Boston.  267 

"  Perhaps  not,  and  I  did  not  know  that  I 
should  remember  you  ;  for  it  was  the  little 
wench  I  noticed  most.  Where  is  she  ?  Where 
is  your  sister  ?  "  suddenly  asked  the  dame. 

"  She  is  in  England,  madam,"  said  Rupert ; 
and  then  Harry  Vane  hastened  to  explain  how 
fond  his  aunt  had  grown  of  the  little  girl,  and 
how  unwilling  to  part  with  her  to  any  but  her 
own  father,  and  how  impossible  it  was  for  him 
to  bring  her  without  a  maid-servant. 

"  Dear  heart !  if  I  had  only  known,  I  would 
have  come  myself  to  fetch  the  little  wench," 
said  her  grandmother,  almost  crying  with  dis- 
appointment ;  for  she  had  made  up  her  mind 
that  the  children  would  come  together  when 
they  did  come. 

It  was  needless  to  ask  if  the  old  couple  were 
happy  in  their  wilderness  home.  Master  Saxby 
looked  ten  years  younger  than  he  did  when  he 
left  England,  although  he  had  been  working 
harder  than  ever  he  did  in  his  life  before.  But, 
as  he  explained  to  Harry  Vane,  his  heart  was 
at  rest  now.  He  was  never  in  fear  of  being 
driven  from  his  home  or  harassed  by  fines  and 
imprisonment  if  he  ventured  to  cross  its  thresh- 
old. They  had  long  walks  and  talks  together, 
Harry  Vane  learning  much  of  the  polity  and 
self-government  of  the  colony  ;  how  the  gov- 


268  SAXBY. 

ernor  was  assisted  by  a  council  of  assessors  ; 
how  all  paid  a  tax  in  money  or  the  produce  of 
their  farms  for  the  making  of  roads  and  such 
other  public  works  as  were  necessary  for  the 
general  comfort  and  safety  of  all  ;  how  the 
lands  were  bought  of  the  Indians  and  fairly 
paid  for,  and  how  anxious  the  colonists  were 
to  keep  up  their  friendly  relations  with  all  the 
tribes  of  the  country,  if  possible. 

Saxby  was  at  the  outermost  fringe  of  civili- 
zation, reclaimed  from  the  primeval  forest,  and 
so  they  often  saw  some  of  the  red-skins,  but 
they  had  had  little  trouble  with  them  beyond 
a  few  fights  at  first,  and  Master  Saxby  was 
now  warmly  interested  in  a  question  that  had 
lately  been  mooted  among  them  by  Master 
Eliot,  the  minister  of  Roxbury,  who  thought 
it  was  the  duty  of  Christian  people  to  try  and 
convert  the  heathen.  This  doctrine  was  too 
new  and  strange  to  win  general  acceptance  ; 
some  good  souls  looking  upon  the  project  as 
nothing  less  than  presumption.  But  Harry 
Vane  did  not  look  upon  it  in  this  light,  and 
entered  so  warmly  into  the  scheme  that  Mas- 
ter Saxby  declared  he  would  go  back  with 
him  to  Roxbury  and  introduce  him  to  Master 
John  Eliot. 


Governor  Vane.  269 


CHAPTER  XX. 

GOVERNOR    VANE. 

A  WEEK  or  two  was  spent  at  Saxby  and 
visiting  the  neighboring  town  of  Ips- 
wich, during  which  time  Master  Vane  made 
many  friends  for  himself,  and  gained  a  few  for 
Master  Eliot's  project  for  teaching  the  Indians 
the  truths  of  the  gospel  as  well  as  the  arts  of 
civilization.  He  obtained  promises  of  mate- 
rial help,  too,  for  this  first  apostle  to  the  In- 
dians ;  for  Harry  Vane  had  the  rare  gift  of  in- 
spiring others  with  enthusiasm — a  gift  which 
brought  him  many  friends,  but  often  as  many 
foes.  At  present,  however,  he  had  none  but 
friends  among  the  colonists,  who  were  as  much 
charmed  by  Harry  Vane's  pleasant  manner  as 
by  the  fact  of  his  having  so  resolutely  turned 
his  back  upon  the  world,  and  chosen  that 
"  better  part  "  which  led  him  to  cast  in  his  lot 
with  these  few  despised  Puritans,  when  he 
might  be  enjoying  every  court  favor.  Dame 
Saxby  was  sorry  to  part  with  her  guest,  but 
he  promised  to  visit  them  again,  and,  what 
was  even  better,  send  them  a  parcel  of  books, 


270  SAXBY. 

and  copies  of  Butler's  first  newspaper,  which 
would  tell  them  all  about  the  German  war. 
Master  Saxby  could  bring  these  back  with  him 
from  Boston  when  his  work  as  an  assessor  was 
over.  The  laws  of  that  period  were  rather 
Draco-like,  and  offenses  singled  out  with  a  mi- 
nuteness that  must  have  given  magistrates 
some  work  to  do  even  in  such  a  small  and  well- 
ordered  community.  Witchcraft,  perjury,  and 
blasphemy  were  made  capital  offenses,  and 
children  were  also  punished  with  death  for 
cursing  or  striking  their  parents.  All  who 
were  detected  either  in  lying,  drunkenness,  or 
dancing  were  to  be  publicly  whipped.  Doubt- 
less these  severe  punishments  had  a  deterrent 
effect  upon  a  few  when  they  first  came  to  the 
colony — young  men  who  came  with  parents 
and  friends — but  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
whole  community  was  far  more  effective  than 
any  laws  that  could  be  enacted,  however  se- 
vere. Harry  Vane  paid  a  visit  to  Master  Eliot 
at  Roxbury,  and  then  took  up  his  residence 
at  Boston. 

When  he  had  been  here  little  more  than  a 
year  the  colonists  showed  their  estimation  of 
him  by  choosing  him  for  go*vernor  at  the  an- 
nual election.  This  was  in  the  year  1636,  when 
Harry  Vane  was  little  more  than  twenty-four 


Governor  Vane.  271 

years  of  age.  The  rejoicings  in  which  the 
people  indulged  upon  that  occasion  called  for 
some  tact  and  management  on  the  part  of  the 
new  governor,  such  as  one  rarely  sees  in  so 
young  a  man.  There  were  fifteen  large  ves- 
sels in  port,  which  fired  a  salute  to  the  new 
governor  ;  and  this  calling  the  attention  of  the 
inhabitants  to  their  presence,  a  deputation 
waited  upon  Vane,  stating  that  such  a  large 
force  of  foreign  vessels  was  in  itself  a  disagree- 
able circumstance  in  the  condition  of  a  feeble 
settlement.  Vane  saw  the  justice  of  it  at  once, 
and  even  more  than  had  been  represented,  for 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  influence  of  the 
habits  of  the  men  of  these  ships  could  not  be 
other  than  injurious  to  the  morals  and  social 
condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  But 
how  to  alter  this  without  giving*  offense  to  the 
captains  of  the  vessels,  and  thus  injuring  the 
commerce  of  the  growing  little  colony,  was  a 
matter  not  so  easily  settled. 

At  length  the  new  governor  invited  all  the 
captains  of  the  vessels  to  dine  with  him,  and 
after  dinner  laid  the  difficulty  before  them, 
when  it  was  discussed  in  the  most  friendly 
manner  on  both  sides.  The  adjustment  of  it 
which  Master  Vane  proposed  was  readily 
agreed  to,  which  was  that  all  inward  bound 


272  SAXBY. 

vessels  should  anchor  below  the  fort,  and  wait 
for  the  governor's  pass  before  coming  up  to  the 
town,  and,  last  but  not  least,  that  the  crews 
should  never  be  allowed  on  shore  after  sunset. 

A  little  later  there  was  another  and  even 
more  delicate  matter  to  settle  between  the 
colonists  and  some  captains  about  hoisting  the 
English  flag,  where  Vane's  tact  saved  them 
not  only  from  offending  the  touchy  seamen, 
but,  what  was  of  far  more  importance  just 
now,  from  giving  any  shadow  of  offense  to  the 
home  government.  What  difficulties  this  tact 
of  the  young  governor  saved  the  struggling 
colony  they,  doubtless,  never  knew,  though 
they  did  know  later — what  private  friends  had, 
doubtless,  informed  Vane  of  at  the  time — that 
the  home  government  was  growing  jealous  of 
the  rising  colony  ;  and  this  same  year  the  whole 
of  it  was  sold  in  Westminster  Hall  over  the 
heads  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  the  patent  granted  by  James  to  the 
original  settlers  who  went  over  in  the  "  May- 
flower." It  is  true  no  action  was  taken  upon 
this  sale,  but  had  the  colonists  given  the  slight- 
est offense,  doubtless  advantage  would  have 
been  taken  of  this,  and  Vane,  who  knew  the 
tempers  of  both  parties,  foresaw  it. 

About  the  same  time  another  difficult  ques- 


Governor  Vane.  273 

tion  came  to  the  front,  which  the  aristocratic 
young  governor  doubtless  had  no  inconsider- 
able share  in  deciding,  though  it  was  against 
his  own  class  in  society.  Lord  Say  and  Lord 
Brooke  had  always  been  good  friends  to  the 
colonists,  helping  them  most  materially,  and 
at  this  time  they  sent  to  propose  coming  to 
the  colony  to  settle,  with  a  few  other  gentle- 
men. But  the  proposal  was  burdened  with 
conditions.  The  new-comers  were  to  form  an 
upper  and  distinct  class ;  their  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors were  always  to  be  gentlemen.  Then 
the  colony  was  to  be  governed  by  two  houses 
of  legislature ;  the  first  to  consist  of  this  hered- 
itary peerage,  answering  to  the  English  House 
of  Lords,  and  from  among  these  alone  the 
governor  was  to  be  chosen ;  the  lower  house 
to  consist  of  freeholders,  as  representatives 
of  the  whole  people.  Doubtless  the  coming 
of  such  noblemen  would  bring  many  present 
advantages  to  the  colonists,  but  these  men 
had  not  forsaken  all  things  for  any  temporal 
advantage,  however  great,  and  they  felt,  as 
doubtless  their  young  governor  foresaw,  that 
they  would  be  bartering  their  dear-bought  lib- 
erty for  a  very  questionable  gain,  and  a  court- 
eous but  decided  refusal  was  sent  to  the  two 
noblemen. 


274  ,SAXBY. 

A  few  months  after  his  election  as  governor 
letters  arrived  from  England  pressing  him  to 
return  at  once,  and  he  was  disposed  to  do  so, 
on  account  of  a  religious  controversy  that  had 
arisen,  and  which  threatened  to  separate  dear- 
est friends  in  its  fierceness. 

The  keen  intellectual  life  of  Boston,  even 
when  she  could  only  boast  of  log-cabins  and 
turf-thatched  churches,  made  her  society  pecul- 
iarly liable  to  this  form  of  discussion ;  and  the 
arrival  of  an  accomplished  English  lady,  Mrs. 
Anne  Hutchinson,  set  the  whole  colony  to- 
gether by  the  ears,  and  soon  brought  upon 
herself  and  young  Governor  Vane  the  charge 
of  heresy.  As  godly  Master  Cotton,  however, 
was  himself  among  the  heretics,  we  may  be 
sure  the  heresy  was  not  of  a  very  strong  type, 
and  consisted  for  the  most  part  in  Harry  Vane's 
old  claim  of  liberty  of  conscience  for  all.  Our 
Puritan  forefathers  did  not  understand  liberty 
after  the  Vane  type.  They  claimed  that  men 
should  have  liberty  to  think  as  they  did,  but 
they  must  go  no  further ;  and  doubtless  it  was 
very  annoying  to  Master  Wilson  and  other 
learned  divines  to  have  their  long  sermons 
pulled  to  pieces  and  criticised  by  a  clever 
woman  like  Dame  Hutchinson,  in  the  presence 
of  half  the  matrons  of  the  city. 


Governor  Vane.  275 

It  was  the  custom  for  the  members  of  the 
Church  to  meet  each  week  to  talk  over  and 
impress  upon  their  minds  the  discourses  of 
the  previous  Sunday;  and  Dame  Hutchin- 
son,  following  out  this  custom,  soon  instituted 
similar  meetings  for  women.  So  attractive 
and  interesting  were  these  prayer-meetings 
that  nearly  all  the  ladies  in  the  place  attended 
them. 

The  clergy  of  the  colony  were  startled  at 
first,  and  then  grew  jealous  of  the  free  inquiry 
that  was  encouraged  at  these  meetings,  and 
of  the  influence  the  new-comer  was  gaining 
over  the  minds  of  their  flocks.  She,  with  a  lack 
of  wisdom  and  Christian  charity,  retaliated 
by  criticising  the  previous  Sunday's  sermon, 
or  circulating  imputations  against  their  learn- 
ing and  the  soundness  of  the  doctrine  they 
preached. 

This  was  not  to  be  borne.  She  herself  was 
a  heretic,  and  must  be  handed  over  for  punish- 
ment due  to  heresy.  At  this  point  Governor 
Vane  interfered  to  protect  Dame  Hutchinson 
from  her  enemies,  and  the  controversy  grew 
more  fierce  and  bitter  from  that  time.  The 
truth  seems  to  be  that  both  Harry  Vane  and 
Dame  Hutchinson  were  a  little  ahead  of  the 
age  in  which  they  lived ;  and  what  we  should 


276  SAXBY. 

call  a  large-hearted  Christian  charity  was  by 
our  stricter  forefathers  branded  as  laxity  in 
doctrine  and  perilous  heresy. 

This,  at  last,  drove  Master  Vane  from  the 
land  of  his  adoption,  and  he  returned  to  En- 
gland in  the  autumn  of  1637. 

But  if  New  England  was  in  a  state  of  fer- 
ment over  a  religious  difficulty,  old  England 
was  no  less  disturbed  by  the  famous  trial  that 
had  just  taken  place  between  Master  Hamp- 
den  and  the  king  over  the  famous  ship-money 
business.  This  was  the  king's  last  mode  of 
increasing  the  revenue  ;  but,  ostensibly  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  a  fleet,  it  was  at  first 
imposed  on  sea-ports  only,  but  soon  extended 
to  inland  towns,  and,  as  one  of  the  famous 
lawyers  of  the  day  characterized  it,  was,  in 
fact,  "  a  spring  and  magazine  that  should  have 
no  bottom,  and  for  an  everlasting  supply  on 
all  occasions." 

People  grumbled,  but  had  paid  this  tax,  il- 
legal as  it  was  deemed  to  be ;  but  Master 
Hampden  refused,  and  tested  the  case  as  a 
point  of  law.  The  decision  had  been  against 
him  through  the  servility  of  time-serving 
judges,  but  there  had  been  so  great  difference 
in  their  various  judgments  that  the  whole  trial 
was  a  severe  blow  to  the  State. 


Governor  Vane.  2/7 

But  if  there  was  little  political  freedom, 
there  was  less  for  those  who  dared  to  differ 
in  religious  matters.  A  pitiable  scene  had 
been  enacted  this  summer  in  front  of  West- 
minster Hall,  by  order  of  the  Star-chamber. 
A  doctor,  minister,  and  lawyer,  three  learned 
men  and  worthy  citizens,  had  been  publicly 
whipped,  their  noses  slit,  their  ears  cut  off, 
and,  thus  maimed,  had  been  branded  in  the 
cheek,  and  imprisoned  for  life.  The  minister's 
offense  was  writing  a  book  entitled  "Zion's 
Plea  against  Prelacy,"  and  the  other  two  had 
given  voice  to  the  popular  discontent  against 
the  illegal  acts  of  the  king  and  corruptions  of 
the  court. 

So  if  Master  Vane  found  it  difficult  to  live 
peaceably  in  New  England,  he  was  not  likely 
to  find  life  a  bed  of  roses  in  his  old  home ; 
for  Laud  had  carried  things  with  a  high  hand 
since  he  had  been  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  the  king  under  his  persuasion  had  at- 
tempted to  force  episcopacy  upon  his  Scottish 
subjects. 

When  Harry  Vane  reached  his  father's  house 
in  the  Strand,  the  first  result  of  this  attempt 
was  being  warmly  discussed  in  many  an  En- 
glish household,  and  nowhere  with  greater 
warmth  or  greater  pity  than  between  Dame 


278  SAXBY. 

Meredith  and  her  adopted  daughter,  Winifred 
Saxby.  How  they  pitied  those  foolish,  igno- 
rant Scotch  people,  who  could  see  no  beauty 
in  priestly  vestments  and  ecclesiastical  orna- 
ments, and  even  resisted  the  introduction  of  a 
prayer-book,  preferring  their  own  bald  service 
to  any  thing  the  English  Church  could  give 
them  in  exchange !  But  who  shall  picture  the 
horror  and  indignation  of  Winifred  when  the 
news  reached  her  of  what  had  taken  place 
in  Edinburgh  that  July  Sunday,  when  Jenny 
Geddes  had  thrown  her  stool  at  the  bishop's 
head?  It  had  been  the  signal  for  hisses  and 
groans,  and  cries  of  "  A  pope !  a  pope !  Down 
with  the  priest  of  Baal ! "  and  what  had  been 
begun  as  a  most  impressive  and  awe-inspiring 
service  ended  in  a  riot  and  a  general  flight  of 
the  clergy. 

"  Is  not  the  sin  of  this  Scotch  woman  un- 
pardonable?" asked  Winifred,  with  a  little 
shiver.  She  was  sitting  at  the  window,  looking 
through  the  tiny  lozenge-shaped  eye-holes  of 
glass  at  the  river,  with  its  burden  of  boats  and 
barges,  and  one  of  these  was  being  moored  to 
their  own  private  steps  at  the  bottom  of  the 
garden. 

"  Somebody  is  coming  here,  madam,"  she 
remarked. 


Governor  Vane.  279 

"I  have  told  Dorothy  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
disturbed  to-day,"  said  Dame  Meredith. 

She  had  only  reached  London  the  day  be- 
fore, and  news  of  this  Scotch  business  had  not 
penetrated  to  the  quiet  of  Hadlow,  and  so  this 
and  various  other  items  almost  as  painful  and 
disturbing  had  met  her  all  at  once  in  Lon- 
don. Poor  Dame  Meredith,  who  thought  the 
Church  of  England  perfect,  or  at  least  grow- 
ing every  day  more  perfect  under  Archbishop 
Laud's  direction,  had  had  high  hopes  for  this 
Scotch  episcopacy  movement ;  and  how  peo- 
ple could  willfully  resist  what  was  intended  for 
their  good  she  was  at  a  loss  to  understand. 

"  If  people  would  only  be  quiet,  and  let  the 
king  and  archbishop  have  their  own  way,  how 
much  better  it  would  be  for  them !"  she  said, 
following  out  her  own  thoughts  rather  than 
answering  Winny's  question. 

"  How  is  it,  madam,  that  people  dare  to 
disobey  God's  anointed?"  asked  the  girl. 

"  Because  they  do  not  understand,  or  will 
not  believe,  that  all  that  is  done  is  for  their 
good.  If  they  could  once  believe  this,  I  feel 
sure  they  would  not  resist  as  they  do,  and— 

But  here  the  talk  was  interrupted  by  the 
entrance  of  Dorothy,  who,  with  a  lurking 

smile,    but   all-becoming   gravity,   announced, 

18 


280  SAXUY. 

"  The  Governor  of  Massachusetts."  If  she 
had  announced  a  Sachem  of  the  Pequot  In- 
dians, Dame  Meredith  could  not  have  looked 
more  astonished  than  she  did  as  she  said,  "  I 
do  not  receive  strangers  to-day,  and  this  for- 
eigner must  want  my  Cousin  Vane." 

"  So  you  decline  to  receive  me,  aunt  ?  "  said 
Harry  Vane,  laughing,  as  he  slipped  from  be- 
hind the  old  waiting  woman. 

"Harry,  Harry!  what!  at  your  school-boy 
tricks  still  ?  I  wonder  how  often  you  have 
played  that  joke  upon  us  ?  "  said  Dame  Mere- 
dith, in  a  tremor  of  delight,  and  yet  turning 
pale  at  this  sudden  apparition  of  her  beloved 
nephew. 

In  a  moment  Harry  saw  that  his  aunt  was 
changed.  The  two  or  three  years  that  seemed 
as  nothing  to  him,  now  he  was  back  in  the  old 
room,  had  aged  her  wonderfully.  Perhaps  it 
was  the  first  time  it  had  ever  come  upon  him 
that  she  was  growing  old,  but  it  came  with 
marvelous  distinctness  now,  and  the  next 
thought  was  about  Winifred,  and  what  would 
become  of  her  in  case  of  her  guardian's  death. 

He  put  them  from  him  now,  but  they  had 
found  a  lodgment  in  his  mind,  and  his  talk 
this  first  day  took  some  color  from  the  hidden 
thought ;  for  he  suddenly  remembered  how 


Governor  Vane.  281 

anti-Puritan  this  girl's  education  had  of  neces- 
sity been,  and  how  painful  her  lot  might  be 
when  she  joined  her  own  friends,  whose  opin- 
ions differed  so  widely  from  those  in  which  she 
had  been  reared. 

"  The  Governor  of  Massachusetts!"  repeated 
Dame  Meredith.  "  Methinks  you  might  have 
chosen  a  more  honorable  title,  and  one  that 
smacks  less  of  rebellion  against  his  majesty," 
said  the  lady. 

"  Dorothy  made  a  slight  mistake.  I  said 
the  late  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  Did  you 
not  hear  of  the  honor  the  good  folks  yonder 
had  conferred  upon  me  ?  " 

"  Honor !  "  repeated  the  lady  with  a  very 
questionable  sniff.  "  We  heard  some  such 
idle  gossip,  but  thought  it  well  to  forget  it 
again,  and  I  mean  to  forget  that  and  every 
other  disagreeable  thing  now  you  have  come 
home  to  us.  You  have  seen  your  father, 
Harry  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  he  is  pleased  to  say  he  is  glad  to 
have  me  back,"  replied  the  young  man. 

"  Did  he  tell  you  the  news  ? "  asked  his 
aunt. 

"  I  have  heard  too  much  news.  That  about 
Prynne  and  Bostwick  is  shameful." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  think  the  Star-chamber  is  a 


282  SAXBY. 

little  too  hard  sometimes,"  admitted  Dame 
Meredith,  "  but  it  was  not  that  I  meant,  but 
this  Scotch  business  that  is  so  sorely  troubling 
the  king  and  archbishop  just  now;"  and  Dame 
Meredith  told  the  story  of  the  throwing  of 
Jenny  Geddes'  stool,  and  the  riot  that  fol- 
lowed. 

Almost  unconsciously  Winny  was  drawn  into 
taking  part  in  the  discussion  that  followed,  and 
Harry  Vane  questioned  and  talked  to  her, 
growing  each  moment  more  painfully  con- 
vinced of  the  depth  and  earnestness  of  her 
religious  opinions,  and  how,  like  his  aunt,  to 
her  mind  the  questioning  the  right  of  king  or 
bishop  to  do  any  thing  they  pleased  was  like 
doubting  God  himself. 


Perplexities.  283 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PERPLEXITIES. 

SUMMER  sunshine  was  again  flooding  the 
pleasant  gardens  of  Dame  Meredith's 
mansion  at  Hadlow,  which  she  rarely  left  now. 
The  change  which  Harry  Vane  had  noticed 
some  years  before  had  now  become  apparent 
to  every  body — the  visits  to  London  had 
grown  more  infrequent,  and,  unwilling  as 
Dame  Meredith  was  to  admit  it,  her  growing 
infirmities  compelled  her  to  keep  almost  en- 
tirely to  her  own  room. 

The  younger  Vanes  often  came  to  visit  her 
and  bring  her  the  news  of  what  was  going  on 
in  the  world  ;  for  the  old  lady  took  as  keen  an 
interest  in  what  was  going  forward  as  ever  she 
did ;  but  lately  Winny  had  taken  upon  her- 
self to  sift  this  news,  begging  the  young  Vanes 
to  keep  back  any  thing  that  would  cause  her 
dear  old  friend  the  least  disquiet. 

These  were  disquieting  times,  and  the  self- 
imposed  censorship  often  made  Winny  look 
grave  and  anxious  beyond  her  years.  She  was 
eighteen  now — a  tall,  stately,  dignified  girl,  as 


284  SAXBY. 

she  was  compelled  to  be,  having  taken  the 
direction  of  Dame  Meredith's  household  upon 
her  young  shoulders,  and  behaving  in  all 
things  as  a  daughter  to  the  friend  who  had 
sheltered  her  in  her  helplessness.  Not  that 
she  felt  herself  forsaken  by  her  own  kindred ; 
sometimes  she  almost  wished  she  had  been, 
for  she  knew  all  too  well  now  the  wide  dif- 
ference that  existed  between  them  ;  but  how  a 
noble,  brave-hearted  soldier,  like  her  father, 
who  had  left  his  country  and  spent  the  best 
years  of  his  life  fighting  for  King  Charles' 
sister,  could  at  the  same  time  sympathize  with 
such  men  as  Pym  and  Hampden,  was  a  puzzle 
Winny  could  not  understand.  Clearly  he  must 
be  mistaken.  In  the  far-off  Germany  he  could 
not  understand  the  battle  that  was  being 
waged  against  the  king  by  these  obstinate, 
misguided  men  ;  and  surely  their  last  act — the 
impious  daring  they  had  been  guilty  of  in  ar- 
resting and  imprisoning  Archbishop  Laud — 
would  convince  him  how  utterly  unworthy 
they  were  of  his  regard,. 

This  imprisonment  of  the  archbishop  was  a 
dread  weight  upon  poor  Winny.  Hitherto 
she  had  carefully  guarded  the  secret  from 
Dame  Meredith,  for  she  feared  to  tell  her  lest 
the  blow  should  lay  her  utterly  prostrate. 


Perplexities.  285 

She  knew  the  horror  that  had  seized  her  when 
she  heard  of  the  awful  crime  the  Parliament 
had  committed  in  laying  its  ruthless  hands 
upon  the  sacred  person  of  the  archbishop. 
What  they  would  not  dare  to  do  now  Winny 
was  at  a  loss  to  know — perhaps  imprison  the 
king  himself,  if  ever  they  had  the  power ;  and 
there  was  no  telling  what  might  happen,  since 
they  had  come  to  open  warfare.  Strange  to 
say,  this  open  warfare  between  the  king  and 
his  Parliament  affected  Winny  far  less  than 
the  imprisonment  of  the  archbishop.  Several 
battles  had  been  fought  during  the  last  nine 
months,  Prince  Rupert,  the  king's  nephew, 
leading  the  royalist  army,  and  often  fighting 
against  old  friends,  who  had  learned  all  the 
tactics  of  war  in  fighting  for  his  father  and 
mother  and  the  Palatinate,  which  represented 
the  Protestant  cause  of  Europe.  But  battles 
even  between  Englishmen,  and  fought  on  En- 
glish ground,  were  nothing  in  Winny 's  mind 
as  compared  with  the  assault  made  on  God's 
Church  in  the  person  of  the  archbishop.  So 
when  young  Mistress  Vane  came  and  whis- 
pered, "Another  battle  has  been  fought,"  Win- 
ny said,  "  Will  it  make  them  release  the  arch- 
bishop, think  you  ?" 

"  Nay,  nay,  I  fear  not,  for  our  enemies  are 


286  SAXBY. 

stubborn.  But  who,  think  you,  has  been 
killed  in  this  battle  ?  'Tvvas  fought  at  Chal- 
grove  field,  not  far  from  Saxby,  my  brother 
tells  us." 

For  a  moment  Winny  shook  her  head,  and 
then,  with  a  touch  of  anxiety  in  her  tone,  she 
said, 

"Not  Master  Hampden,  I  hope!" 

Her  companion  looked  at  her  in  surprise. 

"  Why  should  you  feel  sorry  for  the  death 
of  that  rebel  ?  "  she  said.  "  You  are  almost 
as  bad  as  Harry,  and  I  never  saw  him  so 
moved  as  when  the  messenger  blurted  out  the 
news,  forgetting  he  was  almost  a  rebel  him- 
self." 

The  younger  Vanes  rarely  admitted  so  much 
as  this  as  to  their  brother's  opinions,  for  he 
was  a  great  puzzle  to  them,  as  he  was  to  many 
others. 

"  But  why  should  you  be  sorry,  Winny  ?  " 
asked  her  companion  again. 

"  Because  my  father  will  be  so  sorry  and 
disappointed.  He  is  coming  home,  you  know, 
in  a  few  weeks,  and  in  his  last  letter  he  said 
half  the  joy  of  his  home-coming  would  be  in 
seeing  his  old  friend,  Master  John  Hampden." 

"Your  father  is  coming  back.  Will  he  join 
this  rebel  army,  think  you  ?  " 


Perplexities.  287 

"  My  father  join  the  rebels,  who  have  seized 
the  archbishop !  "  exclaimed  Winny  with  some- 
thing like  scorn. 

"  You  forget  he  is  a  soldier,  and  may — " 

"  Hush,  hush  !  "  interrupted  Winny,  hold- 
"ng  up  her  hands  as  if  to  ward  off  a  threatened 
>low. 

"There,  hush,  dear;  I  did  not  mean  to  hurt 
you.  I  know  what  you  are  feeling;  for  we 
all  feel  the  same  about  our  poor  misguided 
brother.  Is  he  not  doing  all  he  can  to  help 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  Lord  Fairfax,  if  he  is  not 
actually  fighting  himself,  and — and  worse  even 
than  that,  Winny?  I  do  not  mind  telling  you, 
because  you,  too,  have  friends  among  these 
crop-eared  roundheads,  and  can  feel  for  us. 
Harry's  journey  to  Scotland,  by  and  by,  is  to 
make  a  solemn  league  and  covenant,  as  they 
call  it,  with  the  Scotch  to  help  each  other  in 
the  reformation  of  religion  and  the  extirpa- 
tion of  popery  and  prelacy;  so  that  there  is 
'.ittle  hope  of  seeing  the  archbishop  released 
yet,  I  fear." 

The  mention  of  the  archbishop  brought 
back  to  Winny's  mind  the  fear  that  had  been 
uppermost  for  some  days,  lest  Dame  Meredith 
should  hear  this  suddenly  and  without  prep- 
aration. 


288  SAXBY. 

"  Would  it  not  be  better,  think  you,  to  tell 
her,  since  there  is  so  little  hope  of  his  re- 
lease ? "  said  Winny.  "  We  have  kept  this 
secret  so  long ;  but  the  tale  your  father  told 
her,  about  the  archbishop's  living  in  strict 
retirement,  she  is  beginning  to  doubt,  I  fear, 
for  she  has  questioned  me  several  times  of 
late." 

"  Poor  Winny !  how  can  I  tell  you  what  we 
have  all  begun  to  fear  at  home  ?  You  know 
the  archbishop's  trial  is  to  take  place  soon." 

"Yes,  yes;  how  dare  they  presume  to  judge 
one  whom  God  alone  has  the  right  to  bring  to 
judgment?"  exclaimed  Winny. 

"  But  they  have  determined  to  do  it,  and 
they  will  not —  My  father  fears  the  trial  will 
go  against  Laud,"  young  Mistress  Vane  hast- 
ened to  add. 

"And  if  it  should,  what  then? — what  could 
they  do  ?  "  asked  Winny. 

"What  they  did  to  Lord  Stafford  a  little 
while  ago,"  said  her  friend  scarcely  above  her 
breath. 

Winny  started  away  in  horror-stricken  fright. 
"  They  would  never  do  that,"  she  said.  "  They 
would  never  stain  their  hands  with  his  sacred 
blood." 

"  There  is  no  telling  what  they  may  do ;  for 


Perplexities.  289 

you  see  the  hedge  of  sacred  ordinance,  that 
to  us  would  be  his  strongest  safeguard,  has  no 
existence  for  them.  He  is  no  more  than  an 
ordinary  man  to  these  roundheads,  you  must 
remember." 

"  But  even  if  it  be  so,  what  can  they  accuse 
him  of  worthy  of  death  ?  He  has  led  a  pure 
life,  and—" 

"  No  one  has  a  word  to  say  against  his  per- 
sonal character,  but  he  is  to  be  charged  with 
trying  to  subvert  liberty  and  religion,  and 
practicing  cruelty  and  oppression  through  the 
courts  of  Star-chamber  and  High-commis- 
sion." 

Winny  shook  her  head.  "  He  will  not  be 
the  first  martyr,"  she  said  ;  "  but,  still,  I 
hope  his  life  may  be  spared,  that  when  these 
troubles  are  over  he  may  proceed  with  his 
work  for  the  Church.  How  sorely  it  would 
grieve  him  could  he  know  how  his  work  has 
already  been  undone — how  the  churches  have 
been  stripped  and  the  altars  removed  !  " 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  it  is  a  mercy  for  dear  aunt 
that  she  cannot  go  to  church  now,  to  see  how 
bare  it  is  once  more,"  said  young  Mistress 
Vane. 

"  But,  do  you  know,  she  has  begun  to  talk 
of  going  again,  now  that  the  warm  weather 


SAXBY. 

has  come  ?  She  says  it  is  all  very  well  to 
spend  the  hours  we  are  at  church  in  her  ora- 
tory, but  it  is  not  like  worshiping  God  in  the 
great  congregation,  and  she  cannot  let  such 
small  ailments  as  hers  interfere  with  what  is 
a  positive  duty." 

"  Poor,  dear  aunt !  I  wish  we  could  spare 
her  this  pain,  Winny ;  but  if  she  has  set  her 
mind  upon  this,  she  must  be  told  the  truth 
about  the  archbishop." 

"  And  I  have  to  tell  her  that  my  father  is 
coming  home  at  last,  and  that  I  know  she  has 
always  dreaded ;  for  we  cannot  tell  what  he 
may  wish  me  to  do." 

"  O  Winny,  you  will  never  leave  her?"  said 
her  companion  quickly. 

"  I  hope  not,  dear — I  will  not  if  I  can  help 
it ;  but  I  know  it  has  always  been  my  father's 
wish  that  when  he  came  home  I  should  go 
with  him  wherever  he  might  decide  to  live, 
and  it  is  most  likely  that  he  will  want  to  go 
to  this  New  England." 

"  Where  they  are  all  crop-eared  roundheads 
and  drawling  Precisians !  O,  my  poor  Winny, 
what  a  dreadful  fate !  " 

"  Do  not  laugh  at  me,"  said  Winny,  almost 
ready  to  cry.  "  Every  thing  seems  in  such  a 
dreadful  tangle  for  every  body.  How  can  we 


Perplexities.  291 

know  what  to  do,  or  even  what  to  pray  for? 
If  things  were  only  a  little  different — if  there 
were  no  good  men  on  the  wrong  side  ;  but 
there  is  Master  Vane,  and  I  feel  sure,  from  all 
I  have  heard,  Master  Hampden  was  as  good, 
and — " 

"Yes,  my  father  says  there  is  less  possibility 
than  ever  of  a  reconciliation  between  the  king 
and  Parliament  now  John  Hampden  has  gone. 
He  had  always  hoped  that  Hampden  and 
Lord  Falkland  might  have  made  peace  be- 
tween them  ;  for,  although  he  cannot  agree 
with  Harry,  he  says  he  chose  for  his  friends 
the  best  men  in  the  country." 

"  Yes,  that  is  where  it  is  so  hard,  that  so 
many  good  men  are  on  the  wrong  side,  and 
forced  to  do  such  evil  deeds." 

The  two  young  ladies  had  wandered  round 
the  garden  and  back  to  the  house,  and  as 
they  reached  the  door  old  Dorothy  came  to 
tell  them  Dr.  Andrew  Fuller  had  just  arrived. 
He  had  been  spending  some  time  with  the 
king  at  Oxford,  where  the  rival  Parliament 
was  sitting  and  the  court  had  taken  up  its 
abode. 

He  was  a  tall,  stately  man,  but  his  blue 
eyes  seemed  to  brim  over  with  mirthfulness ; 
yet  he  was  as  pious,  and  ruled  his  life  with  as 


292  SAXBY. 

much  strictness,  as  any  Puritan,  although  he 
was  a  stanch  royalist  and  a  great  friend  of 
Dame  Meredith,  whom  he  had  come  some  miles 
out  of  his  way  to  visit.  He,  understanding  and 
appreciating  the  piety  and  earnestness  of  such 
men  as  Harry  Vane,  and  Pym,  and  Hampden, 
had  tried  to  make  peace  between  the  con- 
tending parties  a  few  weeks  .before ;  but  the 
rebels,  though  they  listened  to  his  sermon 
courteously  enough — as  he  told  the  young 
ladies — would  have  made  him  a  rebel,  too,  if 
they  could,  so  he  had  left  London  to  try  what 
he  could  do  among  the  cavaliers  at  Oxford. 
But  his  sermons  were  less  appreciated  by  the 
rollicking  soldiers  and  court  gallants  than  by 
their  enemies ;  still  he  had  great  hopes  of 
Lord  Falkland  being  able  to  do  something, 
if  the  king  would  only  restrain  such  men  as 
Prince  Rupert  from  going  too  far. 

"  It  is  such  a  pity  that  all  good  men  do  not 
range  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  king !  " 
said  Winny,  when  she  had  given  orders  for 
refreshments  to  be  brought  into  the  cedar  par- 
lor, and  heard  from  old  Dorothy  that  Dame 
Meredith  was  taking  her  midday  nap. 

"  Aye,  my  wenches,  it  is  a  sore  puzzle  to  me 
sometimes;  but  I  trow  God  can  see  through 
the  mists  and  tangles  of  this  life,  and,  though 


Perplexities.  293 

the  storm  may  be  fierce,  the  ark  of  his  Church 
will  outride  the  roughest  billows." 

"You  think  the  Church  is  safe,  although  the 
archbishop  is  in  prison  ? "  said  Winny,  who, 
like  many  another  timid  soul,  just  now  thought 
the  safety  of  the  Church  was  bound  up  in 
Archbishop  Laud. 

"  Yes,  yes,  God  is  not  going  to  forsake  his 
Church,  although  it  may  be  for  our  sins  we 
shall  be  sorely  tried  ;  and  lest  we  trust  too 
much  in  ordinances,  some  of  these  may  be 
removed,  that  we  may  cleave  the  closer  to 
God  himself." 

"  I  wish  I  could  believe  this  always,"  sighed 
Winny. 

"  It  is  not  thy  faith,  but  God's  faithfulness, 
you  must  rely  upon,"  said  Dr.  Fuller;  and  at* 
this  moment  Dorothy  came  to  say  that  her 
mistress  was  awake,  and  would  be  glad  to  see 
her  visitor  when  he  had  rested  and  refreshed 
himself. 

His  frugal  meal  was  soon  made,  for  he  was 
one  of  the  most  abstemious  of  men  ;  but  be- 
fore he  went  to  Dame  Meredith  Winny  con- 
trived to  explain  to  him  the  difficulty  she  was 
in  through  the  little  deceit  that  had  been 
practiced  upon  her  aunt  concerning  the  arch- 
bishop's imprisonment. 


294  SAXBY. 

The  good  man  shook  his  head  disapprov- 
ingly. "  Crooked  ways  are  sure  to  land  us  in 
difficulties,"  he  said ;  but  he  undertook  to 
break  the  painful  news  to  his  old  friend,  and 
also  hint  at  some  of  the  changes  that  had  al- 
ready been  effected  in  the  Church  and  ritual — 
how  it  had  been  robbed  of  what  Dame  Mere- 
dith called  "  the  beauty  of  holiness,"  for  the 
more  simple  form  of  worship  that  had  pre- 
vailed years  before. 

It  was  arranged  that  Dr.  Fuller  should  spend 
a  few  days  at  Hadlow,  for  which  Winny  was 
most  thankful  afterward,  for  the  very  day  of 
his  arrival  she  was  summoned  to  see  a  tall 
bronzed  stranger,  who  refused  to  give  his  name 
at  first,  asking  only  for  Mistress  Winifred  Sax- 
»by,  whom  she  supposed  must  be  another  mes- 
senger from  her  father — another  veteran  from 
the  German  war,  come  to  fight  in  the  rebel 
army. 

He  did  not  make  himself  known  for  some 
time,  hoping  that  some  recollection  lingered 
in  Winny's  mind  of  her  father;  but  he  forgot 
the  lapse  of  time,  and  almost  failed  himself 
to  recognize  in  the  stately  young  lady,  who 
seemed  so  perfectly  at  ease  in  this  luxurious 
home,  the  little,  curly-haired  darling,  who  had 
met  him  with  gleeful  shouts  of  joy  whenever 


Perplexities.  295 

the  exigencies  of  the  war  allowed  him  to  re- 
turn for  a  few  days  to  his  home. 

But  at  last  he  made  himself  known,  and 
Winny  was  locked  in  the  arms  of  the  father 
she  had  so  often  tried  to  picture  to  herself. 
The  reality  did  not  disappoint  her.  She  looked 
up  through  the  mist  of  tears  that  had  gathered 
in  her  eyes  with  a  glow  of  pride  at  the  bronzed, 
worn  face  that  had  faced  so  many  battles,  and 
carried  almost  a  charmed  life  through  the  dan- 
gers and  vicissitudes  of  this  long  German  war. 
It  was  a  brave,  noble  face,  telling  of  calm  self- 
surrender  and  self-conquest,  that  stamped  it  as 
the  brow  of  a  victor,  whose  word  none  would 
gainsay  or  doubt.  Winny  was  content  with 
her  father,  and  in  this  their  first  meeting  her 
heart  went  out  to  him,  and  she  felt  willing  at 
once  that  he  should  decide  as  to  her  future. 

It  was  with  this  thought  in  her  mind  that 
she  said,  "  You  will  not  ask  me  to  leave  Dame 
Meredith  yet,  father?  she  is  ill;  she  cannot 
live  many  years,  and  it  will  break  her  heart  to 
lose  me  just  now  when  so  many  sad  things  are 
happening." 

"  My  dear,  you    owe   her   the   duty  of  a 
daughter,  and  how  could  I  grudge  your  loving 
service  to  one  who  has  been  as  a  mother  in- 
deed to  you ! " 
19 


296  SAXBY. 

"  Then,  you  will  not  ask  me  to  go  with  you 
to  New  England  yet." 

"To  New  England,  my  wench?  I  am  not 
going  to  New  England  —  at  least,  not  yet. 
Rupert  is  coming  over  here — I  expect  him  in 
a  few  weeks — for  old  England  needs  the  help 
of  all  her  sons  just  now." 

For  a  moment  Winny  forgot  the  difference 
in  their  opinions,  and  stood  with  clasped  hands 
and  radiant  face.  "  I  am  so  glad,"  she  said ; 
"  so  glad  you  have  come  to  help  the  king  before 
the  rebels  have  gained  any  decisive  victory." 

"  My  dear,  the  king  has  no  more  loyal  sub- 
jects in  this  realm  than  those  brave  gentlemen 
whom  you  call  rebels.  I  am  come  to  serve 
under  Colonel  Cromwell,  who  needs  a  better 
army  than  tapsters  and  'prentice  lads." 

Winny's  hands  dropped  at  her  side,  and  she 
fell  back  a  pace  or  two,  as  though  she  had  been 
struck  a  deadly  blow.  "O,  my  father,"  she 
gasped,  "  I  thought  if  you  only  came  to  En- 
gland, and  heard  about  the  archbishop  being 
in  prison,  and  all  about  the  quarrel,  you  would 
surely  help  the  king  and  try  to  save  our  English 
Church  from  those  who  would  destroy  it." 

"  I  do  know  all  about  the  quarrel,  Winny. 
It  began  before  you  were  born,  before  I  left 
England,  and  has  been  slowly  growing  through 


Father  and    Daughter. 


Perplexities.  299 

all  these  years.  The  people  have  been  robbed 
of  their  rights  and  liberty,  even  their  liberty 
to  serve  God  according  to  their  own  conscience. 
It  was  this  that  drove  your  grandsire,  and 
thousands  like  him,  away  from  their  father- 
land, and  now,  at  last,  the  yoke  has  grown  too 
heavy  to  be  longer  borne.  We  must  break  it 
or  die.  Good-night,  Winny ;  I  will  come  again 
to-morrow  and  see  Dame  Meredith." 


300  SAXBY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CONCLUSION. 

IT  would  be  hard  to  describe  poor  Winny's 
feelings  after  her  father  left  her.  Somehow 
she  had  allowed  herself  to  hope  that  when  he 
came  home  he  would  see  at  once  how  mistaken 
he  had  been,  and  withdraw  the  sympathy  he 
had  hitherto  felt  for  these  Puritans,  who  want- 
ed the  world  turned  upside  down  for  their 
convenience.  Now  these  half-formed  hopes 
were  all  rudely  shattered,  for  it  was  plain  that 
her  father  had  come  home  on  purpose  to  serve 
in  the  rebel  army,  and  it  might  be  that  he 
would  get  killed  without  a  moment  granted 
for  repentance,  or  time  to  understand  the  aw- 
ful mistake  he  had  been  under. 

This  was  a  terrible  thought  to  Winny.  She 
had  often  prayed  for  Jenny  Geddes,  that  God 
would  pardon  her  for  throwing  her  stool  at  the 
bishop  that  summer  Sunday  morning,  almost 
fearing  the  sin  might  be  unpardonable ;  but 
how  much  greater  was  her  father's,  in  raising 
his  hand  against  the  king's  sacred  majesty  in 
open  rebellion !  She  and  Dame  Meredith  had 


Conclusion.  301 

talked  over  the  news  concerning  Hampden, 
and,  hearing  a  rumor  that  though  mortally 
wounded  he  was  not  dead,  they  had  prayed 
that  God  would  grant  him  the  gift  of  repent- 
ance in  those  last  days  of  his  life,  that  his  sun 
might  not  go  down  in  utter  darkness.  Now 
the  same  prayer  would  be  offered  for  her 
father,  but  it  afforded  poor  comfort  to  Winny 
just  now. 

The  news  of  Master  Saxby's  return  was 
broken  to  Dame  Meredith  the  next  day,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  Winny  assured  her  that  he 
had  no  wish  to  take  her  away  at  present. 

"  He  will  not  have  to  wait  long  for  you,  my 
Winny,"  said  the  old  lady,  stroking  the  girl's 
shining  hair,  as  she  knelt  at  her  feet,  and  look- 
ing down  into  the  sad  young  face. 

There  was  no  sadness  in  the  old  lady's ;  she 
looked  brighter  than  ever  this  morning,  but, 
somehow,  it  was  a  brightness  that  made  Win- 
ny vaguely  uneasy,  for  it  was  utterly  unlike 
what  she  feared  would  follow  upon  the  news 
of  the  archbishop's  imprisonment,  and  she 
looked  at  the  faded  old  face  very  lovingly  and 
tenderly  as  she  whispered,  "  No  one  shall  ever 
take  me  from  you." 

"  Bless  you,  sweetheart,  for  all  your  love, 
and  you  must  tell  your  father  I  am  very  thank- 


302  SAXBY. 

ful  to  him  for  leaving  you  with  me  a  little 
longer.  I  'm  wearing  away,  Winny.  This 
world  is  too  much  for  me.  I  cannot  under- 
stand it,  as  I  thought  I  could.  So  many  good 
men  are  on  the  wrong  side,  and  so  many  un- 
worthy ones  where  all  should  be  true  and 
brave.  Master  Fuller  has  been  telling  me 
something  of  his  life  at  Oxford,  and  how  he 
was  as  glad  to  leave  the  cavalier  camp  as  he 
had  been  to  escape  from  London.  I  would 
that  the  king  had  such  men  about  him  as  my 
nephew,  Harry  Vane,  and  some  others  of  the 
Parliament  men ;  then  there  would  be  more 
hope  of  peace  for  this  distracted  realm.  We 
must  pray  for  peace,  my  Winny,"  concluded 
the  old  lady,  for  at  this  moment  Dr.  Fuller 
came  in  to  read  the  prayers  and  lessons  for 
the  day,  which  Dame  Meredith  never  omitted 
reading  for  herself  or  having  read  to  her. 

No  questions  had  been  asked  Winny  about 
her  father  and  the  part  he  was  likely  to  take 
in  the  national  quarrel,  and  she  hoped  that 
when  he  came  no  mention  would  be  made  of 
this  painful  topic.  It  may  be  that  Winny  was 
needlessly  anxious  about  this  now,  for  in  truth 
Dame  Meredith  had  greatly  changed  within 
the  last  few  days.  The  things  of  earth  were 
shrinking  away  from  her  as  she  approached 


Conclusion.  303 

nearer  the  heavenly  city ;  and  she  could  even 
think  calmly  of  the  archbishop's  imprisonment, 
and  believe,  with  Dr.  Fuller,  that  God  was 
well  able  to  take  care  of  his  Church  and  of  his 
servant  too. 

But  if  Winny  thought  less  of  the  old  man 
shut  out  from  the  world  in  the  Tower,  it  was 
because  other  anxieties  pressed  upon  her  to 
counterbalance  it.  The  doings  of  the  rival 
armies  wore  another  aspect  after  her  father 
had  left  her,  and  every  day  she  walked  down 
to  the  high-road  to  watch  for  the  king's  post 
riding  through  the  village,  in  the  hope  of  hear- 
ing some  news  of  what  was  going  forward  at  a 
distance,  for  here,  in  lovely  Kent,  they  were 
far  away  from  the  scene  of  strife. 

She  often  watched  and  waited  in  vain,  but 

• 

not  always ;  for  her  patience  was  sometimes 
rewarded  by  hearing  sundry  scraps  of  news, 
which  the  post  was  always  liberal  in  bestowing 
when  he  reined  in  his  horse  at  the  village 
ale-house ;  and  Winny,  from  the  safe  shelter 
of  the  huge  oak  where  she  stationed  herself, 
could  hear  and  see  all  that  passed  without  her- 
self being  seen.  Sometimes  letters  were  left 
for  the  Vanes  or  Dame  Meredith,  and  some- 
times for  herself,  for  her  father  divined  some- 
thing of  her  anxiety  on  his  behalf,  and  wrote 


304  SAX  BY. 

as  often  as  he  could  safely  get  a  letter  con- 
veyed to  her. 

From  the  scraps  of  news  thus  gathered 
Winny  learned  that  the  royalists  were  every- 
where victorious  in  the  west  of  England  ;  but, 
instead  of  being  able  to  rejoice,  as  she  felt  she 
ought  to  do,  this  good  tidings  only  increased 
her  anxiety,  until  a  word  came  from  her  father 
assuring  her  he  was  alive  and  well.  Then 
Winny  would  breathe  more  freely  for  a  time, 
and  go  about  with  a  less  anxious  face,  until 
the  rumor  of  another  battle  reached  her ;  and 
as  she  had  no  means  of  knowing  where  her  fa- 
ther might  be,  she,  of  course,  imagined  him 
as  being  in  every  battle. 

If  he  had  only  been  fighting  on  the  royalist 
side  every  thing  would  be  so  different,  as  she 
was  often  whispering  to  herself ;  but  now  her 
heart  was  so  cruelly  divided  between  her  love 
and  loyalty  and  every  principle  in  which  she 
had  been  reared,  that  she  could  not  rejoice 
and  thank  God  for  the  conquests  of  the  king, 
for  it  might  be  that  this  very  conquest  would 
throw  a  dark  shadow  over  all  her  life. 

It  was  not  merely  her  father's  death  that 
Winny  lived  in  such  dread  of.  He  would  be 
exposed  to  the  same  danger  if  he  had  been  in 
the  king's  army,  but  Winny  would  have  known 


Conclusion.  305 

nothing  of  the  terrible  apprehension  she  now 
lived  in  if  he  had  been  fighting  on  the  side  of 
king  and  holy  Church.  Nay,  if  he  had  been 
slain  under  such  circumstances  she  would  rath- 
er have  gloried  in  him  as  a  martyr  of  the  good 
cause  who  had  willingly  laid  down  his  life  in 
the  service  of  the  king. 

At  last  came  tidings  of  the  battle  of  New- 
buiy,  where  the  all-victorious  army  of  the  king 
received  its  first  check,  and  lost  its  prince  of 
men — "  the  glory  of  the  royalist  party  " — Lord 
Falkland. 

Strange  to  say,  the  news  of  his  death  affected 
Dame  Meredith  more  strongly  than  the  im- 
prisonment of  the  archbishop  had  done.  "Ah 
me,  sweetheart,"  she  sighed  ;  "  peace  is  fur- 
ther off  than  ever  from  this  distracted  land, 
now  that  good  man  and  brave  soldier  has  been 
taken.  Doubtless  he  was  glad  of  his  discharge, 
for  Prince  Rupert  and  the  lawless  doings  of 
his  soldiers  were  a  sore  trouble  to  him  ;  but  I 
am  thinking  of  the  king  and  this  poor  bleeding 
land — no  longer  '  merry  England,'  but  torn, 
distracted  England,  with  no  hope  of  healing, 
now  Hampden  and  Falkland  have  gone.  My 
poor  Winny !  your  lot  is  cast  in  evil  times,  and 
I  may  not  see  the  end  of  these  troubles ;  but, 
my  dear,  trust  steadily  in  God." 


3o6  SAXBY. 

Happily  for  herself,  Dame  Meredith  was 
spared  the  agony  of  knowing  that  not  only  the 
archbishop  but  the  king  was  at  length  impris- 
oned and  condemned  to  die  by  those  who  had 
taken  the  helm  of  affairs  at  this  perilous  junc- 
ture. It  was  a  very  different  ending  she  and 
Winny  had  hoped  and  prayed  for,  when  they 
pleaded  that  God  would  strengthen  and  build 
up  his  Church  in  righteousness  and  the  beauty 
of  holiness.  We  know  now  that  these  earnest, 
devout  prayers  were  answered,  although  it 
seemed  to  those  who  prayed  that  it  was  bitter- 
est defeat ;  for  to  them  the  "  beauty  of  holi- 
ness "  meant  what  Laud  had  interpreted  it  to 
mean — a  mere  sensuous  worship  of  splendid 
ritual,  which  was  gradually  choking  all  true 
spiritual  worship  and  strangling  the  life  of  the 
Church.  God  would  save  her  from  this  even 
by  sore  judgment  and  bitter  humiliation,  for 
so  it  is  God  often  answers  the  prayers  of  his 
servants. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  royalists  at  Newbury 
there  were  a  few  months  of  comparative  peace, 
but  neither  side  were  idle,  for  while  Harry 
Vane  and  the  Parliament  were  negotiating  for 
assistance  from  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland, 
the  king  was  busy  arranging  for  help  from  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland,  to  renew  the 


Conclusion.  307 

struggle  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity ; 
and  during  this  lull  of  hostilities  Dame  Mere- 
dith passed  away  to  the  land  of  everlasting 
peace. 

Poor  Winny  was  overwhelmed  with  grief  at 
the  loss  of  her  friend,  who  had  been  a  mother 
to  her  for  so  many  years.  It  was  small  conso- 
lation to  her,  either,  that  she  was  possessed  of 
an  ample  fortune,  and  that  a  home  had  been 
secured  for  her  in  the  Vane  household  until 
her  father  could  claim  her. 

And  so  for  six  months  Winny  could  do  lit- 
tle but  watch  and  wait  the  chances  of  war, 
during  which  time  another  sore  blow  fell  upon 
her ;  for  the  long-deferred  trial  against  the 
archbishop  was  commenced  in  March,  and  as 
it  went  on  it  became  more  certain  than  ever 
that  he  would  end  his  days  upon  the  scaffold. 
Sorely  Winny  missed  gentle  Dame  Meredith 
now.  The  young  Vanes  were  as  hot  and  pas- 
sionate in  their  denunciations  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  all  who  sympathized  with  them,  as 
Winny  had  once  been,  while  she — well,  she 
could  not  understand  herself,  only  she  wished 
she  could  run  to  Dame  Meredith  and  hear,  as 
she  so  often  had  in  her  last  days,  tender,  piti- 
ful words,  and  even  excuses  made  for  what  had 
before  seemed  inexcusable  to  both  of  them. 


3o8  SAXBY. 

Now  her  father  was  one  of  those  whom  she 
had  looked  upon  as  enemies,  she  longed  to 
hear  such  soothing  words  again,  even  though 
she  might  herself  combat  them  ;  but  these 
hard,  bitter  words  of  her  young  companions 
fell  upon  her  like  blows,  sometimes  causing 
her  the  double  anguish  of  doubting  her  own 
loyalty,  because  they  pained  her  so  much. 
And  Winny's  was  not  the  only  heart  in  which 
this  fierce  battle  and  bitter  pain  was  added  to 
more  physical  distress.  Of  this  she  knew  noth- 
ing as  yet,  but  she  was  not  long  to  remain  in 
ignorance  of  the  other  side  of  the  gloomy 
picture. 

Early  in  July  came  news  of  a  battle  fought 
at  Marston  Moor,  in  Yorkshire,  and  shortly 
afterward  the  king's  post  brought  a  letter  to 
Winny,  written  by  her  brother  Rupert,  beg- 
ging her  to  come  at  once  to  their  father,  who 
had  been  sorely  wounded  fighting  with  Colonel 
Cromwell's  Ironsides.  A  messenger  was  wait- 
ing in  London  to  bring  her  to  them  without 
delay,  the  letter  said,  and  Winny  was  not  long 
in  making  her  preparations  to  set  out. 

In  sunny,  smiling  Kent  the  fields  were  wav- 
ing with  corn  and  the  orchards  glowed  with 
their  harvest  of  fruit,  and  London  looked  as 
rich  and  prosperous  and  busy  as  ever.  But 


Conclusion.  309 

when  London  was  left  behind,  and  they  were 
on  the  great  northern  road,  they  came  upon 
tracts  of  wilderness  and  pitiless  devastation 
that  made  Winny  shudder.  Wrecks  of  barns 
and  farm-houses  that  had  once  been  pleasant 
homesteads,  but  now  were  only  heaps  of  black- 
ened ruins ;  and  what  pained  her  almost  as 
much  was  to  hear  that  this  was  the  work  of 
Prince  Rupert,  who  would  often  swoop  down 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  a  peaceful  district  with 
a  band  of  his  royalist  soldiers,  and  drive  off 
the  cattle  and  all  that  could  be  carried  away, 
and  then,  if  the  owners  resisted  or  protested, 
they  were  hung  to  their  own  door-posts  as  Pu- 
ritan traitors,  and  the  house  fired. 

In  this  way  hundreds  of  homes  in  England 
had  been  desolated,  and  the  people's  heart 
roused  to  a  hatred  against  their  king  such  as 
they  had  never  known  before,  and  which  proph- 
esied ill  for  the  success  of  the  royal  cause. 

What  Winny  felt  about  all  this  she  kept 
close  in  her  own  heart,  but  she  was  thankful 
when  the  journey  was  over  and  she  was  no 
longer  forced  to  see  such  cruel  sights  and  hear 
that  all  the  vaunted  chivalry  of  the  cavaliers 
were  as  so  many  idle  tales. 

She  found  her  father  in  a  less  dangerous 
condition  than  she  feared,  although  his  wounds 


3:0  SAXBY. 

were  very  severe,  and  he  had  suffered  a  good 
deal  from  pain  and  loss  of  blood.  Rupert  met 
her  with  a  half  apology  for  fetching  her,  for 
their  quarters  were  poor  and  there  was  little 
accommodation  for  a  lady ;  but  Winny  quickly 
assured  him  that  her  greatest  wish  was  to  be 
at  her  father's  side  now  Dame  Meredith  was 
dead,  and  she  soon  proved  that  she  was  no 
dainty  fine  lady  unable  to  do  any  thing  out  of 
the  luxurious  home  to  which  she  had  been 
accustomed. 

Captain  Saxby  had  been  carried  to  a  desert- 
ed cottage  not  far  from  the  scene  of  the  fight, 
and  although  Rubert  and  the  doctor  had  done 
all  they  could  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded 
man,  every  thing  looked  cheerless  and  deso- 
late in  the  extreme. 

But  in  a  few  hours  Winny  had  altered  the  look 
of  things  in  her  father's  chamber.  A  few  odds 
and  ends  of  rough  furniture  that  lay  strewed 
about  the  garden  were  brought  in  by  her  broth- 
er Rupert,  and,  cleaned  and  furbished  by  Win- 
ny, soon  gave  a  more  home-like  look  to  the 
place,  and  the  wounded  soldier  seemed  to  find 
a  relief  from  the  pain  of  his  wounds  and  the 
monotony  of  his  imprisonment  in  watching  the 
graceful  figure  of  his  daughter,  who  was  con- 
tinually busying  herself  over  these  small  details, 


Conclusion.  311 

that  would  never  have  entered  a  man's  head 
to  contrive. 

But  when  the  excitement  of  her  coming  was 
over,  and  all  that  could  be  .devised  to  make 
the  cottage  more  comfortable  had  been  done, 
Winny  discovered  that  her  father  was  going 
back  to  the  same  state  of  listless  brooding  he 
had  indulged  before  she  came,  and  she  re- 
solved to  ask  her  brother,  who  was  still  with 
them,  if  he  knew  of  any  cause  for  this.  The 
brother  and  sister,  so  long  parted,  had  got 
used  to  each  other  again  by  this  time,  and  all 
the  old  love  seemed  to  have  revived,  in  spite 
of  the  difference  of  opinion  existing  between 
them — a  difference  that  was  a  bitter  pain  to 
both,  and  yet  which  helped  to  convince  each 
how  much  might  be  said  for  the  opposite 
side. 

"  Something  on  his  mind,"  repeated  Rupert 
when  his  sister  told  him  about  her  suspicions. 

"  Yes,  it  is  something  about  Uncle  Roger,  I 
feel  sure,"  said  Winny ;  "  for  I  heard  him  say, 
'  Roger,  Roger,'  several  tfmes  in  his  sleep  this 
morning. 

"  Hush,  hush ;  yes,  it  is  that,  I  am  afraid," 
admitted  Rupert.  "  Uncle  Roger  was  fight- 
ing in  the  royalist  army,  and  he  and  our  father 
met  on  the  battle-field  and  recognized  each 


312  SAXBY. 

other.  It  was  not  the  first  time  they  met 
since  father  had  returned  to  England  ;  but 
they  had  parted  in  anger  because  he  refused 
to  admit  father's  claim  to  a  share  of  Saxby, 
and  to  secure  it  entirely  for  himself  he  took 
up  the  royalist  cause.  They  never  met  again 
until  this  battle  of  Marston  Moor,  and  Uncle 
Roger  has  been  killed.  We  did  not  mean  to 
let  father  know  it  just  now,  but  some  one 
spoke  of  it  incautiously,  and  he  overheard 
what  was  said.  But  do  you  know,  Winny,  we 
shall  have  to  move  from  here  soon  ? "  added 
Rupert. 

"  But  can  father  be  moved  ?  "  said  Winny, 
anxiously. 

"  The  doctor  says  he  will  never  get  better 
here,  and  advises  his  being  taken  to  his  native 
place,  Great  Kimble.  Will  you  talk  to  him 
about  it,  and  try  to  find  out  what  he  thinks  of 
the  plan  ?  " 

To  every  body's  surprise  the  invalid  caught 
eagerly  at  the  suggestion,  and  arrangements 
were  at  once  made  to  have  him  conveyed  in  a 
litter,  and  by  easy  stages,  to  the  village  among 
the  chalk  hills  where  he  had  played  as  a  boy, 
and  which  he  had  left  five  and  twenty  years 
before  to  fight  for  freedom  and  religious  lib- 
erty. 


Conclusion,  313 

Rupert  hoped  that  the  dear  familiar  scenes 
surrounding  their  ancestral  home  might  soon 
do  all  that  the  doctor  thought  they  would. 
But,  alas,  the  destroyer  had  reached  Saxby  be- 
fore them,  and  nothing  remained  of  the  old 
house  but  a  charred  heap  of  blackened  ruins, 
while  over  fields  and  orchards  desolation  and 
destruction  reigned  complete. 

"  It  is  enough,"  said  the  invalid  when  he 
caught  sight  of  the  ruin  ;  "  take  me  away  as 
far  as  you  can.  I  have  looked  my  last  at  dear 
old  Saxby,  that  has  cost  me  my  brother's  life 
and  my  father's  banishment.  Take  me  to  my 
father  now,  children.  Thank  God,  his  old 
eyes  will  never  see  this  mournful  sight !  Take 
me  to  New  Saxby,  Rupert,  about  which  you 
have  told  me  so  much.  I  would  fain  see  my 
father  once  more  before  I  die." 

From  this  time  his  one  wish  was  to  see  his 
father,  and  so,  as  soon  as  he  was  sufficiently 
recovered  from  his  wounds  to  be  able  to  travel, 
the  three  set  out  on  their  voyage  to  the  New 
England  that  was  henceforth  to  be  their  home ; 
and  here  Winny  learned  to  understand  that 
the  Church  of  God  might  include  many  who 
did  not  worship  him  after  a  pattern  set  by 
kings  and  bishops,  while  many  a  Puritan 
learned  to  think  m.ore  k.indly  of  those  who 
20 


314  SAXBY. 

differed  from  themselves  by  a  visit  to  the  gen- 
tle royalist  maiden  living  at  New  Saxby ;  for 
Winny  never  gave  up  her  love  of  king  and 
country,  and  no  one  ever  thought  of  asking 
her  to  do  so. 

The  success  of  Oliver  Cromwell  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Commonwealth  in  En- 
gland carried  the  Reformation  a  step  further ; 
but  this  was  followed  by  a  retrograde  move- 
ment when  Charles  II.  came  to  the  throne 
from  which  his  father  had  been  hurled ;  his 
accession  sent  many  to  the  New  England  that 
was  now  growing  to  be  a  might  and  power  in 
the  world — the  home  of  liberty,  the  refuge  of 
brave,  true  souls,  who  loved  liberty  more  than 
ease  or  life  itself. 

The  efforts  and  prayers  of  the  Pilgrim  Fa- 
thers who  had  first  set  foot  on  the  western 
wilds  had  been  wonderfully  answered.  They 
had  said,  "  If  it  please  God  to  discover  some 
place  unto  us,  even  though  in  America,  where, 
free  from  antichristian  bondage,  we  may  retain 
our  names  and  nationality,  and  not  only  be- 
come a  means  of  enlarging  the  dominions  of 
the  English  State,  but  the  Church  of  Christ 
also,  in  that  place  we  will  joyfully  establish 
ourselves ;  and  our  persecuted  countrymen 
-shall  see  how  in  the  distant  wilderness  men 


Conclusion.  3 1 5 

may  comfortably  subsist,  and  keep  their  con- 
sciences unsullied ; "  and  in  little  more  than 
thirty  years,  under  their  vigorous  leadership,  a 
New  England  had  arisen ;  and  we  trust  and 
pray  that  the  mighty  empire  born  of  the  Pu- 
ritans' efforts  and  prayers  will  ever  be  true  to 
her  noble  lineage,  and  faithfully  keep  the  price- 
less trust  committed  to  her  by  the  grand  old 
men  of  the  "  Mayflower. 


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